10-Time Drunken Driver First Arrested Under Tough Wisconsin Law

A Fond du Lac man is among the first suspected impaired drivers arrested under Wisconsin’s tough, new drunken driving law that could send repeat offenders with 10 or more convictions to prison for a decade. Steve A. Johnson, 52, was arrested Sunday evening on suspicion of 11th-offense drunken driving.

The new law took effect New Year’s Day. Previously, the maximum prison sentence for person with 10 or more drunken driving offenses was seven and one-half years.

Johnson was arrested after a report of a possible hit-and-run collision in Appleton about 8 p.m. Sunday and was being held at the Outagamie County Jail, the Appleton Police Department said in a news release. A 30-year-old woman, who wasn’t named, reportedly backed her truck into the vehicle then fled. When officers arrived, the truck had been returned and parked in the same spot on the 100 block of South State Street described by witnesses.

She tried to leave on foot, but several bystanders stopped her, police said. While police were questioning her, Johnson allegedly drove away in the truck she had been driving. Officers tried to flag Johnson, but he didn’t stop until another officer pulled him over about four blocks away, according to the report.

• See More: Wisconsin’s Tougher Drunk Driving Laws Go Into Effect January 1

According to a criminal complaint, Johnson told police he was headed home from a bar after having three beers. He failed a field sobriety test, according to the complaint, and a preliminary breath test showed a blood alcohol content of .27, more than three times the legal limit of .08. He had a valid driver’s license, police said.

Johnson’s most recent conviction was on Jan. 10, 2006, in Winnebago County, according to the complaint. He was sentenced to three years in prison, then placed on extended supervision for three years. His earliest conviction was in April 1990, and Johnson was cited on four separate occasions from April 25 to July 30, 1994.

The woman who was driving the truck was cited on suspicion of second-offense drunken driving, unsafe backing and driving after revocation, according to the news release. She was released to the custody of a family member.

Wisconsin’s new drunken driving law also makes fourth offense drunken driving a felony, regardless of when it was committed. The old law considered it a felony only if it had occurred within five years of a third offense. The maximum sentence for fifth and sixth offenses was increased to five years from three; and to seven and one-half years from five for seventh, eighth and ninth offenses.

Photo via Appleton Police Department