WAUSAU — A 31-year-old Wisconsin Rapids woman already on probation stemming from a cocaine possession conviction is facing 6th offense drunken driving charges after a traffic stop early Saturday.
Jessica Suit is being held in the Marathon County Jail on a $3,000 cash bond, according to court records. Suit faces a maximum of 10 years in prison if she is convicted.
Police said Suit was driving at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday with three passengers in her vehicle when she did not stop properly at the intersection of Thomas Street and Grand Avenue. Suit initially denied drinking, then told officers she was the “most sober person in the vehicle,” according to the police report.
After failing a number of field sobriety tests, Suit consented to a breath test, police said. The preliminary test showed Suit had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.152 percent, more than seven times the 0.02 percent limit imposed on Suit due to her previous five OWI convictions. Blood test results are pending.
Unlike most crimes in Wisconsin, repeat drunken driving is subject to mandatory minimum sentences, after an April 2016 law passed strengthening OWI penalties. The mandatory minimum sentence for a 6th offense OWI is 60 days in jail and $600 in fines.
Suit’s last OWI conviction was in December 2012.
A review hearing is set for Aug. 22 in Marathon County Circuit Court.
