Mountain man faces ninth OWI offense

By: 
NEW Media Staff

Bond was set Nov. 16 at $20,000 cash for a man from the Town of Mountain after he was charged with his ninth offense of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

Michael Andrew Jahnel, 59, also faces a misdemeanor charge of operating a motor vehicle while his license was revoked, in connection with an incident that allegedly occurred Nov. 12. The case was scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 21.

According to the criminal complaint filed in Oconto County Circuit Court, a sheriff’s deputy on routine patrol saw a vehicle pull into the parking lot of a Suring bar shortly after midnight Nov. 12. The deputy considered it suspicious because the bar was closed and the lot was empty, so he followed the vehicle after it departed.

After the vehicle weaved over the fog line a couple of times, and noticing that the registration lamps were out, the deputy conducted a traffic stop to talk with the driver, who turned out to be Jahnel.

The deputy described Jahnel as having “bloodshot, glossy eyes,” slurred speech and an odor of intoxicants, and the driver admitted to having had three drinks, the complaint said.

He asked Jahnel to perform several field sobriety tests, which he did not do very well, and a Breathalyzer test indicated a blood-alcohol content of .104, according to the complaint. A records check found that Jahnel had eight prior convictions for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

After placing Jahnel under arrest, the deputy took him to Bellin Health Oconto Hospital for a blood draw and then to the Oconto County Jail.