A Winnebago man with a long history of drunk driving arrests was taken into custody Sunday night after a state trooper pulled over a black GMC Yukon in the parking lot of a Love's Travel Stop west of Poynette. Authorities say the SUV had been weaving on Interstate 39 and came close to hitting other drivers before the stop. According to the Wisconsin State Patrol, the man, 58, was arrested on suspicion of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, marking his 11th OWI.
State Patrol dispatchers first got word around 6 p.m. on May 10, when a driving complaint came in for a southbound vehicle on I-39 near milepost 106 in Marquette County. A trooper tracked down the black Yukon in neighboring Columbia County and directed it off the interstate into the Love's parking lot, where the traffic stop was made. The driver, who was reportedly already on parole for 10 prior OWI convictions, was then arrested on suspicion of OWI, 11th offense, FOX6 Milwaukee reported.
The stop unfolded at the Love's Travel Stop just west of Poynette, the busy interstate travel center at Exit 115 that caters to truckers and road trippers with fuel, food, and truck parking. The location is listed along I-90/I-39 near County Road CS, exactly where troopers say they steered the Yukon into the lot before making the arrest, according to Love's Travel Stop #637.
The DeForest Post of the Wisconsin State Patrol is the unit that covers Columbia County and handles I-39 calls in that stretch. The Southwest Region office is identified as the source of the information shared with local media about the stop, according to The Wisconsin State Patrol DeForest Post.
Legal consequences for repeat OWIs
In Wisconsin, OWI penalties stack up quickly for repeat offenders. Once someone hits double digits, they are in serious felony territory, with the law allowing for multi-year prison terms, steep fines, extended or lifetime license revocations, and mandatory ignition interlock devices. A summary from Stangl Law notes that each additional conviction pushes those penalties higher.
Details on the suspect's booking, bail, and formal charges were not immediately available. The initial information about the traffic stop and arrest came from a State Patrol release provided to local reporters, and FOX6 Milwaukee reports that troopers handled both the stop and the investigation. Court and charging records are expected to clarify how prosecutors move forward once the suspect is fully processed and appears before a judge.
