By Shereen Siewert
WAUSAU — A burned out tail light led to the arrest of a 41-year-old Wausau man who now faces charges of sixth offense drunken driving.
Adrian Giese is jailed on a $5,000 cash bond and on Monday was ordered to stand trial in Marathon County Circuit Court.
According to the criminal complaint:
A Wausau Police officer was on patrol at about 3:30 a.m. Feb. 16 when he saw a 1998 Ford Ranger pickup swerve while turning northbound onto First Avenue. The officer noticed one of the high mounted brake lights on the pickup was out and pulled over the driver, who police identified as Giese.
Giese told the officer he had worked second shift and was on his way home but was glassy-eyed and smelled of alcohol, according to the police report. Preliminary breath test results showed Giese had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.192 percent, more than eight times the 0.02 percent limit imposed on him due to his five prior OWI convictions.
Police also discovered Giese was carrying a baggie containing just under 7 grams of marijuana in his pocket, according to the report.
Court records show Giese was convicted of OWI in 1995, 2000, 2003, 2005 and 2008 and was on probation at the time of his arrest, stemming from an August conviction on drug charges.
If convicted of the OWI charge, Giese faces between six months and 10 years in the Wisconsin Prison System. He will be eligible for license reinstatement in three years.
A pretrial conference is set for March 16.
