Rural CF man arrested for fourth OWI offense this year, 10th overall

Oct. 1—CHIPPEWA FALLS — A rural Chippewa Falls man has been arrested for his 10th offense of driving under the influence — including his fourth since May.

James W. Stanek II, 56, 18053 Highway X, appeared for a bond hearing Wednesday in Chippewa County Court on possible charges of driving while impaired, possession of meth, operating after revocation, failure to install an ignition interlock device and bail jumping. He is due back in court on Oct. 19.

Judge Ben Lane set a $7,500 cash bond, and ordered Stanek to submit to random drug tests.

Chippewa County Sheriff Jim Kowalczyk said one of his deputies observed Stanek driving on Highway X in the town of Lafayette at 11:16 p.m. Tuesday, and knew that Stanek had a revoked license.

"He approached Stanek and observed signs of impairment, consistent with drug use," Kowalczyk said.

Stanek had a 0.0 blood-alcohol level on a preliminary breath test, but he was arrested because of apparent drugs in his system, and was transported to the Chippewa County Jail, Kowalczyk said.

Stanek was convicted of his sixth drunken-driving offense in 2009 in Dunn County Court. He has been arrested on four separate incidents this year, and all appear to involve driving while having drugs — not alcohol — in his system. He was arrested May 14 in the town of Lafayette for his seventh OWI offense, and arrested again by the Chippewa Falls police on July 12 for his eighth OWI, court records show.

On July 24, officers arrested Stanek at a crash scene on Highway J, near 50th Ave., in the town of Lafayette. In that case, he posted a $2,500 cash bond on July 28.

Along with the drunk-driving counts, Stanek has been charged with bail jumping, possession of meth, marijuana and illegally obtained prescriptions, and possessing drug paraphernalia.

In 2015, Stanek was convicted of second-degree recklessly endangering safety in Chippewa County Court, and was ordered to serve six months in jail.