Man gets prison for 6th and 7th OWI convictions

Dan Holtz, The Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire, Wis.
·2 min read
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Oct. 13—EAU CLAIRE — A Jim Falls man will spend three years in prison for his sixth and seventh operating while intoxicated convictions.

David A. Schultz, 63, was found guilty recently in Eau Claire County Court of felony counts of sixth- and seventh-offense drunken driving.

Judge Michael Schumacher ordered Schultz to spend four years on extended supervision following his release from prison.

Schultz was fined $3,457 and had his license revoked for three years.

As conditions of supervision, Schultz cannot drink alcohol or enter taverns. He must also undergo an alcohol and drug assessment, and any other recommended programming or treatment.

According to the criminal complaint in the seventh-offense case:

A police officer was sent to an Eau Claire gas station on Gateway Drive just before 4 p.m. on March 14, 2020, on a report of a man who was repeatedly reversing and pulling into the parking barrier.

A witness believed the driver may be under the influence of something based on his facial expressions. The witness said the driver was doing the same thing at the Eau Claire Walmart store.

The officer located the suspect vehicle in the Fazoli's parking lot. The driver, identified as Schultz, was exiting the restaurant. He was staggering while he was walking.

The officer noticed a moderate odor of alcoholic beverages coming from Schultz, who said he had been drinking earlier.

Schultz said he was not driving and was going back to his car to eat. He said he was never going to leave. He said a female friend gave him a ride to the restaurant in his car, then picked up her car that she left at Fazoli's.

There was a bottle of alcohol in plain view inside of Schultz's vehicle.

Schultz refused field sobriety tests and insisted that he wanted to smoke a cigarette.

Officers then arrested him for operating while intoxicated. He refused to take a breath test and was transported to Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire for a blood draw.

Schultz was uncooperative at the Eau Claire County Jail. He had to be taken out of the back of a squad car by jail staff and immediately placed inside a holding cell.