A southeast Iowa man is facing an OWI charge after Jefferson County deputies responded to reports of a wrong-way driver on Highway 34 early Wednesday morning.
William Johnson, 32, of Mount Pleasant, is charged with Operating While Under the Influence 1st Offense, a serious misdemeanor, and Careless Driving, a scheduled violation.
According to court documents, deputies were called to the area of Highway 34 near mile markers 214 and 215 at 1:25 a.m. on Wednesday, November 11th, after two 911 calls reported a black Jeep traveling the wrong way on the highway.
At approximately 1:50 a.m., a deputy located a black Jeep Renegade traveling eastbound on Highway 34 near Wintergreen Boulevard, south of Lockridge. Deputies had earlier observed the same vehicle traveling on a county road before proceeding into Fairfield city limits. The deputy observed the vehicle swaying into both eastbound lanes before conducting a traffic stop.
The driver, identified as Johnson, was the sole occupant of the vehicle. The deputy noted Johnson had bloodshot and watery eyes and detected the odor of alcohol coming from within the vehicle. Johnson was asked to step out and refused to consent to standardized field sobriety tests. He was placed under arrest.
At the Jefferson County Correctional Facility, Johnson again refused field sobriety tests and also refused a preliminary breath test. Under implied consent, however, Johnson consented to a breath sample on the Datamaster, which indicated a blood alcohol content of .116 percent.
As of the time of publication, Johnson’s initial appearance had not been held.
