Crime & Safety
Greenfield Man Charged With Sixth OWI
Suspect, 50, was convicted of drunk driving five times in 2008.
Correction: Steven Szymczak's blood alcohol level was inaccurate in a previous version of this story. It has been corrected. We regret the error.
A 50-year-old Greenfield man is facing nearly 20 years in prison after a Milwaukee County sheriff’s deputy caught him driving drunk with multiple drugs in his system.
Steven K. Szymczak was charged in Milwaukee County Circuit Court on Wednesday with one count of sixth offense operating while intoxicated, one count of operating a motor vehicle with a prohibited alcohol concentration and one count of operating a motor vehicle with a controlled substance in his blood stream. If convicted, he faces up to 18 years in prison and $30,000 in fines.
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According to the criminal complaint:
On March 24, the deputy spotted Szymczak driving his pickup truck near 35th Street and Loomis Road, and deviating lanes multiple times. The deputy continued to follow him until eventually pulling him over near 35th Street and Layton Avenue.
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Szymczak told the officer he had been drinking “vodka and pineapple” and had also taken a Valium before driving. He was unable to pass field sobriety tests and had a blood alcohol level of .098 at the time of the incident.
He was then taken for a blood test where investigators found he also had cocaine and four other drugs in his system.
Szymczak was convicted of drunk driving in California five times in 2008 after he was arrested for driving under the influence on Jan. 29, March 3, May 6, May 12 and May 18 of that year.
He will make his initial appearance in court Nov. 16.
