NEENAH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A Neenah man’s driver’s license was revoked for a year Friday, after being convicted of refusing to take the test for intoxication after his arrest for a 10th drunk driving offense. The 10th OWI itself was previously dismissed for a lack of evidence.
Peter Long, 53, was arrested after police discovered his motorcycle along a roadway on Aug. 20, with him asleep in the grass nearby. After a preliminary during which no one testified they saw Long operating the motorcycle, a court commissioner dismissed the felony count for lack of evidence.
However, prosecutors continued to pursue the citation for Long’s refusal to take the test for intoxication during his arrest.
According to the criminal complaint, Fox Crossing police discovered a motorcycle on the side of the road shortly before 3 a.m. on Aug. 20. The officer “noticed the rear tire was dug in and a pile of dirt was behind it, as if the motorcycle got stuck trying to go over the curb and the driver attempted a hard acceleration over the curb.”
Long was found in a ditch nearby. He claimed someone else was driving the bike. After police got a warrant, a blood sample was taken. Long had an absolute sobriety order due to his prior convictions. Long had an occupational driver’s license but this event was outside those hours, the complaint states.
One of Long’s friends told police Long bought the motorcycle a few weeks before, and it does not have a breathalyzer device as his truck does.
If convicted, he would have faced 4-to-15 years in the prison system for a 10th OWI.
In the most recent case listed in the complaint, Long was sentenced to five years in prison in August 2013. He was also placed on extended supervision for five years, and is required to have an ignition interlock for three years, court records show.
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