Area Man Charged With 7th OWI

A 40-year-old Racine man is facing his seventh drunk driving charge after he was pulled over early Tuesday morning by a Wisconsin State Trooper near Highway 31.

David J. Stewart was charged in Racine County Circuit Court Tuesday with one count of seventh offense operating while intoxicated. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and $25,000 in fines.

According to the criminal complaint:

At 2:03 a.m. Tuesday, a Wisconsin State Trooper spotted Stewart travelling eastbound on 16^th Street near Highway 31 with a defective license plate light on Stewart’s car and pulled him over. Stewart told the trooper he had stopped near Highway 20 for a drink. The trooper smelled alcohol in the car asked him if he had drank anything before driving, and Stewart said “I don’t drink.”

She then checked his record and found Stewart had six prior OWI convictions, so she asked him once again if he had anything to drink. Stewart said “nope,” then said “I had one drink,” saying he stopped drinking 10 minutes before driving.

Stewart failed field sobriety tests and had a blood alcohol level of 0.108 at the time of the incident.

Stewart was previously convicted of OWI in 1991, 1994, 1998, 2004, 2006 and 2008. He’s currently being held in Racine County Jail on $20,000 bond while awaiting trial.