Hunter
07/03/20
A Muscatine man was taken into custody and charged with his second OWI after telling officers that he was in a different state, waiting for the fireworks to start.
Police reports indicate that 51-year-old Barry Donald of Park Avenue was called in when a suspicious vehicle was in a driveway in the 1300 block of Taft Avenue Northeast in Solon just after 9pm Thursday.
When contacted by officers, Donald reportedly had bloodshot watery eyes, slurred speech, smelled of ingested alcohol, and had poor balance. He reportedly told police he believed he was in the Peoria Illinois area at a friend’s house, waiting for the fireworks display. He allegedly admitted to leaving Davenport, and drinking Vodka and waters every time he would stop between driving.
Donald refused all testing, and a check of his records showed a previous OWI conviction from 2017 in Henry County Illinois.
He was taken into custody and charged with OWI 2nd Offense, an aggravated misdemeanor punishable by a prison sentence of up to two years if convicted. He was also charged with driving while license revoked, a serious misdemeanor carrying an additional one year sentence if found guilty.