A single-vehicle crash in the City of Spooner on November 12, 2017, has resulted in charges of felony 4th offense Operating While Intoxicated for Shell Lake, WI man, Justin Elkins.
Spooner Police Officers, along with Washburn County Sheriff’s Deputies and a Wisconsin State Patrol Trooper responded to a report of a single vehicle that crashed on November 12, 2017, on Valley Road, south of Pine Drive. The vehicle was found unoccupied, resting against several small trees at the edge of the swamp. Officers on scene noticed footprints in the snow going away from the vehicle towards the Pine Drive Apartments.
A records check showed that the vehicle was registered to Justin Elkins, of Shell Lake, WI and to a Minnesota woman. Officers located Elkins at the Pine Drive Apartments, and according to the criminal complaint filed against him in Washburn County Circuit Court, Elkins confirmed that he had been driving the vehicle after leaving the bars in Spooner at closing time and then dropping a passenger off at the Pine Drive Apartments. Elkins also reportedly said that no one else had been in the vehicle when it crashed.
Elkins also allegedly told officers on scene that he had consumed 2 mixed drinks and 4 shots while at the bars, but that he had not consumed any alcohol since the vehicle crashed or while at the Pine Drive Apartments. Due to his statements and the odor of alcohol that officers noticed coming from Elkins, they proceeded with sobriety testing. A preliminary test of Elkins’ breath returned a result of .133.
Elkins was placed under arrest for Operating While Intoxicated. Inside the vehicle, Officers also saw a ‘wooden dugout’, a device commonly used for storing drug paraphernalia and controlled substances, in the front seat cup holder. Inside the dugout, officers found marijuana and a brass bowl containing charred residue which smelled of marijuana.
The criminal complaint goes on to state that once at the Washburn County Jail, Elkins then told officers that he had a Leinenkugel’s beer, a shot of Tennessee Fire, and a Budweiser while at the Pine Drive Apartments.
An evidentiary blood draw was conducted with Elkins, and that blood sample was sent to the Wisconsin State Crime Lab for testing, however, the results of that test are not known to DrydenWire.com at this time.
Elkins is charged with Class H Felony Operating While Intoxicated - 4th Offense. The maximum penalty for a conviction of Class H Felony 4th OWI is imprisonment for not more than 6 years, a maximum fine of $10,000, or both. Charges of Misdemeanor Possession of THC (Marijuana), and Misdemeanor Possession of Drug Paraphernalia were also filed against Elkins.
Online circuit court records show that Elkins appeared in Washburn County Circuit Court for a bail bond hearing on November 13, 2017, and was placed on a signature bond. Elkins appeared again on December 11, 2017, for an Initial Appearance regarding his charges and a scheduling conference is set in January 2018 to determine his future court dates.
Pursuant to the direction of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, as found in Supreme Court Rule 20:3.6, Trial Publicly, you are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Last Update: Dec 22, 2017 8:48 pm CST
