Crime & Safety

Police Arrest Lost & Confused Town of Vernon Man for OWI

Arrested for his second OWI after officers say he couldn't follow directions.

A 73-year-old Waukesha man was arrested for his second OWI after driving around in the dark, without any headlights on in Fox Point, 43 minutes northeast of where he told officers he was trying to go.

According to the report:

A officer noticed a car traveling along Lake Drive at 1 a.m. Jan. 3 without any headlights on. The officer pulled the man over in the 6700 block of North Lake Drive, walked up to the car and knocked on the window telling him to roll his window down.

Find out what's happening in Fox Point-Baysidewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"I'm trying to," the man said. According to the report, the man spent the next one minute and 33 seconds trying to open his window, to no avail. The driver finally opened the door and the officer told him why he pulled him over. The man then tried to turn on his headlights, but he popped the trunk instead.

As the officer spoke to the driver, he noticed the smell of alcohol and that the man’s eyes were bloodshot and glassy. The officer also noticed food on the man’s face and lap, and it appeared that he had urinated on himself, according to the report.

Find out what's happening in Fox Point-Baysidewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The officer asked the man if he’d had anything to drink and he admitted to having just one. He said he had just dropped off a friend and he was lost. He said numerous times, “I have no idea where I am.” He said he was trying to get to his home in the Town of Vernon, which is 43 minutes southwest of Fox Point.

When the officer asked him for his license, the man stood up outside the vehicle to get it from his wallet and subsequently lost his balance. He went past his license in his wallet several times and could not retrieve it.

After attempting a few field sobriety tests, and failing each of them, the officer stopped the tests because the man could not follow directions, the report said.

He was arrested for his second operating while under the influence and taken to St. Mary's Hospital for a blood test. His blood alcohol content was 0.12.

He was cited for OWI, second offense, prohibited alcohol concentration and operating without headlamps lighted. At 4:02 a.m. he was released to his brother.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.