TOWN OF MOSEL, WI (WHBL) - Parking a vehicle on a roadway and then falling asleep behind the wheel led to the arrest of a Wisconsin Dells man for his fifth OWI offense.
A Sheboygan County Sheriff’s deputy was dispatched to Orchard Road in the Town of Mosel Sunday to investigate a vehicle parked in the roadway with a person asleep behind the wheel. When Deputy Jason Brockway arrived, he found the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta with the engine running. The person behind the wheel was identified as its owner, Ruben Hernandez.
Brockway tried several times to wake the 40 year old, and had additional difficulties trying to get Hernandez to roll down a window.
According to the criminal complaint, Brockway noticed the strong smell of an intoxicant coming from the vehicle. In addition, Hernandez had bloodshot and glossy eyes, had slurred speech and had difficulty finding his driver’s license when asked to give it to Brockway.
Brockway took Hernandez to the Haven Fire Department where field sobriety tests were performed out of the rain. Hernandez failed the tests, forcing Brockway to arrest him for an OWI offense.
A review of DOT records show Hernandez had been charged for four previous OWI convictions. The first was in 1996, and the most recent was in 2004.
Hernandez was also charged with two counts of bail jumping for violations of bonds for past battery offenses.
Online court records show Hernandez had an initial court appearance Tuesday, where a five-thousand dollar cash bond was set. He will be back in court next week Wednesday for a preliminary hearing. He faces over eight years in prison if found guilty.