GC man charged with 5th OWI for driving moped in Menomonie pleads not guilty
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — A 45-year-old Glenwood City man charged with a fifth offense of operating a vehicle while intoxicated in connection with driving a moped in Menomonie has pleaded not guilty.
Nathan S. Voeltz appeared in Dunn County Circuit Court before Judge Rod W. Smeltzer with his attorney, Jonathan Lundeen, for an arraignment hearing January 27 and entered his plea of not guilty.
A one-day jury trial has been scheduled for Voeltz in May.
Voeltz is charged with two felony counts of possession of marijuana and a fifth offense OWI and two misdemeanor counts of possessing drug paraphernalia and operating a vehicle while his driver’s license is revoked.
At a preliminary hearing in December, Kayla Tisol, a police officer with the Menomonie Police Department, testified that the May 18, 2019, incident had occurred on the bike trail behind Walmart and directly east of Walmart and that Voeltz had been found still straddling the moped after it had tipped over.
Two passersby out walking came across Voeltz, but they did not see the crash, Officer Tisol testified.
Voeltz was not responding appropriately, but he was breathing, and he was bleeding from the head, she said.
Officer Mark Pugmire, the officer who responded to the crash, said Voeltz was disoriented and combative, and Pugmire could smell an intoxicant and marijuana, Officer Tisol said.
Officer Pugmire believed Voeltz needed medical attention, but Voeltz was not cooperating, so officers put him in a prone position on the ground and handcuffed him, she said.
Voeltz was transported to Mayo Menomonie. Officer Pugmire observed an unopened can of beer in the cup holder on the moped, she said.
At the emergency room, a package was found in Voeltz’s pants pocket that was suspected to be marijuana, and when she field tested the substance, it tested positive for THC, Officer Tisol testified.
Voeltz has had four prior OWIs and also a prior conviction for marijuana. A blood test indicated Voeltz’s blood alcohol level was .21, she said.
Judge Smeltzer set bail last May with a $1,000 signature bond and ordered Voeltz, as a condition of bail, not to consume any alcohol.
OWI fifth offense is a Class G felony that, upon conviction, carries a penalty of a fine of up to $25,000 and/or 10 years in prison.
Because Voeltz has two or more prior convictions, he is subject to an alcohol concentration fine enhancer, and since his blood alcohol level was between .20 to .249, if he is fined, the fine would be tripled.
If convicted, Voeltz also would be fined not less than $600 and imprisoned for not less than 6 months since the total number of suspensions, revocations and other convictions counted equals five or six.
In addition, if Voeltz is convicted, his driver’s license would be revoked for not less than two years but not more than three years.