Man Allegedly Spoke of Violent Crimes During Wisconsin OWI Stop

Any man or woman who is pulled over in a Wisconsin traffic stop will want to quite wary of he or she says to police. While the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects those in such situations from unlawful searches or seizures and the Fifth Amendment protects the right to remain silent without legal representation, it is definitely true that anything a suspect says or does during a traffic stop or arrest can later be used by prosecutors to incriminate the person if charges are filed. Police claim that a man they recently arrested mentioned past allegations of violent crimes to them while he was being arrested.

Authorities say the man acted inappropriately during a recent traffic stop where the officer at hand suspected him of operating while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In Wisconsin, this is typically referred to as an OWI stop. Police claim the man swore at the patrolman, made racially biased statements and also mentioned that he had been charged for homicide in the past.

The 48-year-old was taken into police custody. He is now facing a felony fourth offense OWI charge, as well as charges for jumping bail and driving while his license was revoked. As it turns out, charges that had been filed against the man in a shooting death of another man were dropped in 2016.

Officials say there are other active cases pending against the defendant, as well. While he was never convicted of violent crimes in Wisconsin, it would not be uncommon for prosecutors to try to use the comments he allegedly made during the arrest to their favor in court. This is one of many reasons it pays to talk to an experienced criminal defense attorney before answer questions or making comments during an arrest.

 

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