Milwaukee man charged with 4th OWI offense 10 months after conviction for 3rd

MILWAUKEE -- A Milwaukee man convicted of his third OWI offense in February was charged with his fourth after an arrest in late December.

Andrew Dixon, 36, of Milwaukee faces one count of OWI, fourth offense (a felony), one count of operating a motor vehicle while revoked and one count of disorderly conduct, penalty enhancer.

According to a criminal complaint, on Dec. 30, around 12:30 a.m., a deputy observed a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed on I-43 NB at National Avenue. The deputy accelerated to 85 miles per hour and still wasn't able to close in on the vehicle. The complaint said at one point, the vehicle crossed all four lanes of traffic, cutting off another vehicle. It deviated from its lane of traffic and nearly side-swiped another vehicle before exiting the freeway. That's when the deputy initiated a traffic stop.

The deputy made contact with the driver, who was found to have glassy, bloodshot eyes, and the deputy noted a strong odor of intoxicants coming from him. He denied drinking, and the complaint said he experienced difficulty removing his license from his wallet. He initially refused to perform field sobriety tests, but eventually did perform them poorly. A preliminary breath test revealed a result of .232. He was taken to the hospital for a blood draw.

While there, the complaint said the driver, identified as Dixon, "became very combative and loud -- yelling about the blood draw and shouting profanities." Multiple security guards responded and moved him into a closed room. The complaint noted a child "several rooms away" started crying as a result of Dixon's screaming.

The complaint said Dixon's prior OWI convictions occurred in 2012 in Milwaukee County, in 2014 in Waukesha County and in February of 2018 in Milwaukee County.

Dixon made his initial appearance in court on Jan. 3, where he pleaded not guilty. A preliminary hearing was set for Jan. 9. Cash bond was set at $2,500.