Ferndale Police Arrest Drunken Driver with 19 Suspensions

A Ferndale man with 19 current suspensions and 14 prior convictions was arrested about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday after performing poorly on field sobriety tests, Ferndale Lt. Detective William Wilson said.

A Ferndale Police officer observed the 49-year-old suspect run a red light at Wanda and Jarvis. The suspect was driving a Chevrolet Cheyenne. However, when the officer ran the license plates, it revealed they belonged to a four-door Ford car.

"The officer stopped (the man) and suspected he was drunk," Wilson said. "(The suspect) performed poorly on sobriety tests and was arrested." Wilson said the suspect didn't blow into a Breathalyzer, however.

The suspect's suspensions and convictions date back to 1990 and he is on probation for a third-degree operating while impaired (OWI) from Oakland County. He has three OWI convictions – Center Line in 1997, Pontiac in 2000 and 2009.

The suspect has also been convicted of operating while visually impaired (OWVI) twice – Ferndale in 1994 and Bloomfield Hills in 1995.

An OWI is a more serious charge than an OWVI, usually proven with blood alcohol level of .08 or more. OWVI means that it was allegedly obvious to the arresting officer that the suspect could not operate a vehicle. Three is no minimum blood alcohol level for this charge.

Wilson said it's not uncommon for a suspect to have this many convictions or suspensions.

"This certainly is not unusual," he said. "They rack 'em up and most places are too busy to arrest them or the courts are too jammed up to convict them."

Wilson said the department expects warrants and the suspect to be arraigned this afternoon in .

Correction: Ferndale Police has given out the wrong age of the suspect. He is 49-years-old.