WAUSAU — A 34-year-old Athens man accused of his fifth drunken driving charge told police he drank “about half a bottle of vodka” before he was pulled over this week in Wausau.
Jared Kreft is facing misdemeanor charges of driving with a revoked license and failing to install an ignition interlock device along with the felony drunken driving charge. He appeared Monday in Marathon County Circuit Court, where a judge ordered him held on a $1,000 cash bond.
Court records show Kreft was most recently convicted of drunken driving just nine months ago, in March 2017. Kreft did not have a valid license and did not have a court-ordered ignition interlock system in the vehicle he was driving when he was arrested early Monday, police said.
According to the criminal complaint:
A Wausau Police officer pulled Kreft over for driving without his headlights on at about 12:45 a.m. on Grand Avenue. Kreft pulled over a few blocks later and admitted he had been drinking at a local bar. Kreft told the officer he had intended to stay overnight at a hotel, but a credit card he was using was declined, so he intended to drive back to Athens.
A preliminary breath test showed Kreft was driving with a preliminary blood alcohol concentration of 0.162 percent, more than eight times the 0.02 percent limit imposed on him due to his prior convictions.
A preliminary hearing is set for Dec. 27.
Nope, NO alcohol problem here in central WI. Move along, folks. Nothing to see here. How many 4th, 5th or 6th offense OWI arrests have we seen on these pages in the last 3-4 weeks? Ridiculous.
Out of habit, I only write briefs on OWI arrests if they’re at a level of 5th offense or above (or if it’s part of a bigger story, like a homicide crash). That was a rule we followed at the WDH way back when, in part because 5th offense was the level where it became a felony. I thought about covering 4th offenses after the penalty structure changed (4th is a felony now, as of Jan. 1, 2017) but the sheer number of 4th offenses I’d be covering is staggering! I’d have to pull some data to be sure, but I could swear I’ve covered more OWI 5s in recent months than ever before, too.
They need to change the laws, take your vehicle on first offense, fine you $2000.00 and 90 days In jail, suspension of license for 2 years, 2nd offense, take your vehicle, $3000.00 fine, a year In jail, suspension of license for 5 years, 3rd offense, take your vehicle, $5000.00 fine, permanent loss of license, 2 years In jail, 4th offense, 5 years State Penn, and a $10,000.00 fine, have a three strike law and make the 2nd offense a felony and I bet DUI,s go down big time.