A 57-year-old Racine man faces his fifth drunken driving offense after his arrest Friday in the Village of Caledonia.
The felony charge filed Monday in Racine County Circuit Court against Michael R. Hess carries a fine of $25,000 and 10 years in prison.
Hess, who is in custody, made his initial court appearance Monday. Court records indicate that Hess has previous drunken driving convictions in 2011, two in 2006 and one in 1993.
According to the criminal complaint:
Police responded to the McDonald’s, 5141 Douglas Ave., Caledonia, at 7:20 p.m., to assist another officer that had checked the defendant’s vehicle registration that showed two traffic warrants out of Racine County.
While speaking with the driver, officers observed an odor of intoxicants, glassy and bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. Hess told police he had consumed two beers that night. Hess failed each of the field sobriety tests and a portable breath test at the scene revealed a blood-alcohol content of 0.085.
A warrant also was obtained for a legal blood draw, which was performed at an area hospital. Results of that test are pending.
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