By Shereen Siewert
An Eagle River man on probation for a drug trafficking conviction is facing his fifth drunken driving charge after he was arrested near Wausau behind the wheel of an RV.
Police say 59-year-old Kurt A. Wilder was wanted on a felony probation warrant and was driving with a blood alcohol concentration of more than 0.191 percent the night of Jan. 13 when he pulled his RV into a stranger’s town of Maine driveway. The homeowner called police to report the vehicle after becoming suspicious that the driver was intoxicated. According to the police report, the woman said the unfamiliar vehicle’s lights kept going on and off before the driver rolled away, missing the driveway.
Deputies located the RV at about 10:45 p.m. Jan. 13 at a nearby gas station and confronted the driver, identified as Wilder, who was allegedly confused and had difficulty getting out of the vehicle. Wilder allegedly shared conflicting information with deputies about where he had been and said he “didn’t know” why he pulled into a stranger’s driveway. Later, he allegedly said he was following another driver and it was “his bad,” according to the police report.
A check on Wilder’s license showed he had an expired Colorado driver’s license and was on probation, but Wilder couldn’t remember why he was on probation, according to the incident report. Court records show Wilder was convicted in December in Vilas County Circuit Court of possession of narcotics with intent to deliver. Additional drug-related charges were dismissed as part of a plea agreement and Wilder was given a withheld sentence and ordered to spend 30 months on probation.
Wilder faces charges filed Jan. 15 in Marathon County Circuit Court of fifth-offense drunken driving and was ordered held on a $1,000 bond with the first $100 to be paid in cash. He was also cited for driving without a valid license.
If Wilder is convicted of the felony drunken driving charge in Marathon County, he will likely see increased penalties for his Vilas County drug conviction because of the plea agreement in place. In a withheld sentence, defendants who violate the conditions of supervision and find their probation revoked, are returned to court for sentencing.
A preliminary hearing in the Marathon County case is set for Feb. 18.
