WAUSAU — A 31-year-old Wisconsin Rapids woman will spend three years in prison after she was convicted this month of her sixth drunken driving charge.
Jessica Suit was sentenced Thursday in Marathon County Circuit Court. Judge Mike Moran also sentenced Suit to spend four years on extended supervision after her prison term is complete and pay a $600 fine.
Suit was already on probation stemming from a cocaine possession conviction at the time of her arrest, according to court records.
Sixth offense drunken driving charges were filed in August against Suit, after an early morning traffic stop at the intersection of Thomas Street and Grand Avenue. Suit initially denied drinking, then told officers she was the “most sober person” of the four people 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.
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 will be eligible to have her drivers license reinstated in three years.
