'Operation Drive Sober' results in 16 OWI arrests over the weekend
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Acting Sheriff Richard R. Schmidt ordered an aggressive Operating While Intoxicated (OWI- drugs and/or alcohol) initiative to rid the Milwaukee County freeway system of intoxicated drivers. This past weekend’s Operation Drive Sober initiative from Friday at 4:00 p.m. through 6:00 a.m. Monday, resulted in the arrest of 16 drunken drivers. The average PBT test results were .15.
Three repeat offenders were arrested: Kenneth Steinberger, age 60, of Mukwonago, for OWI-7th offense; Jeremy Kaltenbrun, age 39, of Milwaukee, for OWI-4th/Drugs offense; and Bryan Goetz, age 30, of Butler, for OWI-2nd offense.
Bryan Goetz, 30, was arrested for OWI-2nd offense over the weekend
On Saturday, February 10, at about 7:40 p.m., a deputy stopped a van that was traveling without its lights on westbound on I-43 near Forest Home Avenue. The driver, Kenneth Steinberger, age 60, of Mukwonago, tested .099 on a PBT. His six prior convictions occurred in February 1992, January 1995, November 2001, March 2002, July 2007 and April 2011. Steinberger said he was drinking beer in a bar in Mukwonago and mixed drinks at a bar on Becher Street. If convicted of the Class F felony OWI-7th offense, he faces up to 12 ½ years in prison.
Kenneth Steinberger, 60, was arrested for OWI-7th offense over the weekend
On Sunday, February 11, at about 3:25 a.m., deputies responded to a crash where a vehicle had struck the barrier wall on the ramp from the east to the south in the Stadium Interchange. The vehicle left the scene, struck the wall again, and exited the freeway at Frederick Miller Way before deputies arrived.
Deputies caught up with the vehicle where it crashed into a traffic signal on Frederick Miller Way just east of Miller Park Way. Jeremy Kaltenbrun, age 39, of Milwaukee, admitted taking several different nervous system depressants. He has three prior OWI convictions from May 1998, October 2004, and November 2004. If convicted of the Class H Felony OWI-4th offense, he faces up to six years in prison.
Jeremy Kaltenbrun, 39, was arrested for OWI-4th offense over the weekend
First-time offenders taken into custody during the weekend initiative were: Stephanie Hitsman, age 36, of Greenfield; Nicola Pawlak, age 43, of Oak Creek; Gabriella Rothe, age 21, of New Berlin; Brian Burczyk, age 39, of Germantown; Stephanie Picchiottino, age 28, of Pleasant Prairie; and Milwaukee residents: Valerie Blaine, age 33; Nicole Mejias, age 23; Brandon Robinson, age 29; Shawn Tesch, age 24; Jose Mendez, age 21; Amber Zayac, age 22; Natalie Madala, age 21; and Kristine Irish, age 24.