Mark Frank pleads not guilty to charges tied to high-speed pursuit with Wauwatosa police

MILWAUKEE -- Mark Frank pleaded not guilty on Wednesday, April 24 to charges associated with leading Wauwatosa police on a high-speed pursuit -- all while he was allegedly drunk.

Frank faces the following criminal charges:

According to the criminal complaint, a Wauwatosa police officer was on patrol on Sunday, April 7 when he saw a blue minivan fail to move over while another officer was conducting a traffic stop. The Wauwatosa officer conducted a traffic stop of the blue minivan on N. Mayfair Road just south of Burleigh.

The complaint indicated the driver in the minivan identified himself as "Fonzie Lee Frank." When the officer went to run the name, it could not be located. When the officer asked the driver if he was lying about his name "again, the driver stated no." The officer also noted an odor of alcohol coming from the driver "as well as bloodshot, glassy eyes and slurred speech." The driver admitted having a couple of drinks prior to driving. The complaint said when the officer asked the driver to get out of the vehicle, the driver apparently stated, "I don't think so" and drove off. A passenger in the minivan was exiting the vehicle when it pulled away from the officer -- and suffered some scratches.

Officers pursued the driver in the minivan. The complaint said they observed the minivan "run two different stop signs and estimated the speed to be in excess of 80 mph." Around 117th and Locust, the officers lost sign of the minivan. A short time later, a citizen flagged down officers -- and pointed out the minivan parked nearby.

Mark Frank

The complaint indicated officers called in a K-9 unit -- and eventually located "the driver laying down on his stomach, hiding behind a hot tub" in a backyard. He was arrested -- and positively identified as Mark Frank via fingerprint scan.

According to the criminal complaint, Frank consented to a preliminary breath test which showed a result of .091 -- more than the legal limit.

Frank waived his right to a preliminary hearing on Wednesday -- and the court found probable cause to bind him over for trial. Frank is due back in court on April 30.