Falls Man Charged With Fourth OWI in 5 Years

A 30-year-old Menomonee Falls man is facing felony drunk driving charges after he got caught Thursday driving in the village drunk without a court ordered ignition interlock device in his car.

Jeremiah J. Hartwig was charged in Waukesha County Circuit Court Thursday with one count of fourth offense operating while intoxicated within five years, one count of operating a motor vehicle after revocation of his license and one count of failure to install an ignition interlock device. If convicted he faces up to 7 ½ years in prison and $13,100 in fines.

According to the criminal complaint:

Hartwig was pulled over at 1:18 a.m. Thursday near Saint Francis Drive and Appleton Avenue after a Falls police officer noticed his plates were suspended due to unpaid parking tickets. Hartwig told the officer his license was also suspended and he doesn’t have insurance on the car, and a dispatcher informed the officer it was supposed to have an ignition interlock device installed.

Hartwig told the officer he hadn’t been drinking, but a passenger in the car said they were. Hartwig had a blood alcohol level of 0.08 at the time of the incident.

He was previously convicted of drunk driving in 2002, 2007 and February. He’s currently being held in Waukesha County Jail on $10,000 cash bail.