Parolee Arrested for Driving Drugged in Tosa

A man on parole for burglary was arrested Wednesday for driving under the influence of drugs in Wauwatosa.

It's a hard charge to make stick, but he could be going back to prison anyway because he was already on parole for a felony – and was hit with a paraphernalia possession count, which would otherwise be nothing more than a municipal ticket.

At 9:13 p.m. Wednesday, a 37-year-old Jackson man was arrested for driving while intoxicated on drugs, first offense, as well as possession of paraphernalia, after he was seen passed out at the wheel of his running pickup truck at West Burleigh Street and North Mayfair Road.

A patrol officer found him there, still holding a glass pipe in one hand. Neither the officer’s emergency lights nor a flashlight shined in his face roused the man, so the officer opened the driver’s door and loudly ordered him to wake up – which he finally did.

He could hardly stand up on his own, and when put into the back of a squad car, he immediately fell asleep again.

Wauwatosa police found a little under 3 grams of a leafy green substance believed to be some kind of synthetic marijuana, as it came up negative in a test for THC.

Officers also found packaging for a product called "Bizarre," and the suspect admitted he had paid $30 for it.

Sobriety tests could not be performed at the scene because it was raining and windy, so they were conducted later at the police station.

By that time, the man was able to perform all the steps well. Blood samples were drawn for drug testing.

Police say that driving while drugged charges are notoriously hard to prove in any case, because blood test standards for impairment are inconclusive for many drugs, and especially for new classes of underground designer drugs.

However, even the possession of paraphernalia ticket was enough to land the Jackson man back in jail for now.

He had been convicted of burglary in 2001 and sentenced to 10 years, four to be served in prison and six under extended supervision.

He made it until 2009, when he was arrested again and sent back to prison, and his supervision was extended.

Almost done with his time by now, he messed up again.