Siren Man Charged with 4th OWI in 5 Years

BURNETT COUNTY -- A Siren, WI man faces charges in Burnett County Circuit Court of Operating While Intoxicated, 4^th Offense within 5 years, following an incident in May 2016 when Burnett County law enforcement received a call from the Burnett County Medical Center concerning a patient who was arguing with medical staff and then left the facility.

Brent Petersen, of Siren, WI, is charged with Class H Felony Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated, 4^th Offense in 5 years; Operating with Prohibited Alcohol Concentration, 4^th Offense in 5 years; Misdemeanor Operating Motor Vehicle While Revoked; and Misdemeanor Failure to Install Ignition Interlock Device.

Charges were filed against Petersen following an incident on May 6, 2016, when it was reported by the Burnett Medical Center that Petersen had been at the hospital for medical care and that after arguing with hospital staff, he left and drove over the curb when he did so.

Law enforcement located Petersen on State Highway 70 and stopped his vehicle. The criminal complaint states that Petersen told officers that he did argue with a nurse about his blood pressure medication. Initially, the officer only cited Petersen for Misdemeanor Operating While Revoked and Misdemeanor Failure to Install an Ignition Interlock Device. Petersen was placed under arrest for these violations. While Petersen was being transported to the Burnett County Jail, the officer noticed an odor of intoxicants coming from Petersen, according to the criminal complaint.

When the officer asked if Petersen had been drinking, Petersen stated that he had not consumed any alcohol since the previous night. However, the officer decided to conduct a preliminary breath test on Petersen, the result of which was .17. A full test with the intoximeter machine was then completed, and the result of that was .20.

Petersen appeared on May 9, 2016, for a bail bond hearing and the court placed him on a signature bond.

Public record indicates that a second criminal complaint was filed in October 2016 against Petersen in Burnett County Circuit Court charging him with 2 counts of Class H Felony Bail Jumping, 1 count of Misdemeanor Battery, and 1 count of Misdemeanor Disorderly Conduct. The details of that are not known to DrydenWire.com at this time.

A plea hearing in Burnett County Circuit Court is scheduled in September for Petersen regarding all his criminal charges.

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.