Woman Arrested Twice in 11 Days for OWI

A young Milwaukee woman made it past her 24th birthday without getting arrested for drunken driving but then picked up two in less than two weeks.

Meanwhile, a Wauwatosa woman kept a clean record into her 50s but now has her first arrest as a suspected OWI offender.

According to police reports:

At 12:47 a.m. Feb. 4, the 24-year-old Milwaukee woman was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, second offense, after a patrol officer saw her run a flashing red light on North 68th Street at West Wisconsin Avenue, nearly hitting another car.

The officer quickly pulled her over and said he met a glassy, blank stare when he spoke to her. He asked for her driver’s license, he said, and she looked confused, rummaged through her purse for a full minute, then handed over her passport.

The woman announced that she was "(expletived)" because she was driving while suspended, and admitted having had “a couple beers.”

Field sobriety tests were halted when she was unable to complete the steps without falling. She blew a .21 blood alcohol concentration on an evidentiary breath test.

A record check showed she had been arrested for OWI on Jan. 24 – 11 days before.

In a curious legal twist, the Wauwatosa police had to consult the Milwaukee County District Attorney's office to make sure they could process and forward the case as a second offense, because the arrests came in such rapid succession the suspect had as yet not had a hearing.

The DA reviewed the case and determined that there was probable cause in the woman's first case and that indeed the new arrest should be filed as a second offense.

The police report did not say where the woman's first offense occurred.

That's one potent glass of wine

A 54-year-old Wauwatosa woman was arrested at 9:55 p.m. Feb. 2 on suspicion of drunken driving, first offense, after a Brookfield police patrol officer saw her driving erratically and dangerously and pulled her over.

The officer was driving southbound on North 124th Street near West Burleigh Street when he noticed the woman weaving. He got behind her and saw her almost strike a curb and then veer back over the center line.

When he had noted that she kept varying her speed for no apparent reason and then crossed the center line again, he stopped her.

The officer said he immediately noticed a strong odor alcohol when he spoke to the driver. But when he asked if she'd been drinking, she said she was coming home from a dinner date and had drunk just one glass of wine.

Despite that claim, she couldn’t get her driver's license out of her wallet.

The officer asked her to perform field sobriety tests, which she failed, and she blew a .16 blood alcohol concentration on a breath test – twice the proscribed limit.