A Madison man has been jailed for his sixth DUI conviction

CHIPPEWA FALLS — A Madison man was ordered to serve 18 months in prison and three years of extended supervision after his sixth drunken driving conviction.

Kenneth W. Lewis, 40, was charged in July 2022 in Chippewa County District Court with OWI-6, operating while revoked, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He later missed court hearings and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Lewis pleaded no contest to OWI-6 on Wednesday. In addition to the prison sentence, Judge James Isaacson disqualified Lewis from driving for three years and ordered him to pay a fine of $2,309. Under the terms of his extended supervision, Lewis cannot consume alcohol or enter taverns. Lewis must also provide a DNA sample. The sentence is concurrent with any other sentence Lewis is serving. Other charges were read and dismissed.

According to the criminal complaint, two Chippewa County deputies responded to a call about a vehicle stuck in a ditch at 7:35 p.m. on July 4, 2022, along Highway T, north of Highway 29. The male driver, identified as Lewis, was in his seat car and waits for someone to pick him up.

Officers ran his license information and learned of his DUI conviction. They observed signs of impairment and Lewis failed field sobriety tests and was arrested. A preliminary breath test showed no alcohol in his system. Blood was taken to determine if there were any drugs in his system.

Lewis was also charged with refusing to submit to a field sobriety test after being arrested. Mail sent to him was returned as unsolicited and undeliverable, and a notice of intent to revoke his operator’s license was filed.

Court records show Lewis was convicted of his fifth OWI in 2013 in Sawyer County District Court. Lewis also served one year in prison after being convicted in Eau Claire County in 2020 of aggravated battery of an elderly person, a felony. He also served one year in prison after being convicted of domestic violence by strangulation and strangulation in 2017.