Hunter
08/28/23
An Iowa City man was arrested Sunday evening for his 3rd OWI after an incident at the GuideLink Center.
61-year-old Herbert Mather of the Hilltop Mobile Home Park was observed operating a GMC Envoy in the Center’s parking lot just after 6:30pm. Mather is barred from driving until April 2025.
Upon contact, he allegedly had bloodshot watery eyes, slurred speech, impaired balance, and the odor of ingested alcohol. Mather reportedly needed to use vehicles in the parking lot to support himself during his encounter with police.
Mather was allegedly belligerent and combative with authorities, threatening them with physical violence several times. An open 1.75 liter bottle of alcohol was reportedly observed with Mather in the vehicle. He allegedly admitted to operating the vehicle, saying that he was looking for someone.
Mather refused sobriety testing, including PBT and Datamaster tests. He continued to shout obscenities towards officers and demanded to be taken to jail.
His request was granted. Mather was charged with OWI third offense, Driving While Barred, and Driving while License Revoked. If convicted on all counts, Mather could be sentenced to up to eight years in prison.