Central Wisconsin Man Sentenced to Jail Time for OWI and Retail Theft

Friday, January 19th, 2024 -- 2:00 PM

(Mike Leischner, WSAU) A Central Wisconsin man facing a battery of OWI, retail theft, and bail jumping charges has avoided prison time, but will still serve jail time and pay fines.

According to Mike Leischner with WSAU, Mark Calmes appeared in court Wednesday to plead no contest to three OWI charges with passengers under the age of 16 in the vehicle, one count of child neglect, one count of bail jumping, and three counts of retail theft.

A judge then found him guilty on all counts. His sentence will include 135 days in jail. The first 45 days will cover the first two offenses, with a 90-day conditional sentence to follow for the 3rd offense.

He will also have his driver’s license revoked for more than two years and must install an ignition interlock device on his vehicle. Fines for the OWI charges totaled $6,228.

As for the retail theft counts, the 37-year-old must pay about $80.00 to three different stores to cover the cost of the items stolen plus court-ordered surcharges. In what was a complex web of eight cases covering more than 20 charges Judge LaMont Jacobson amended two of the OWI’s to reflect a second and third offense.

Initially, all charges were listed as first-offense OWI because they all occurred in a matter of months. So with none of the cases completed, no first offense OWI had stuck on Calmes’ record.

That means Calmes’ next OWI would be an automatic felony punishable by up to six years in prison and $10,000 in fines. As part of the plea deal, several counts of bail jumping were dismissed. Charges in the case date back to May 2023.

The second and third OWI charges occurred in June and August of that same year. It started when a State Patrol officer pulled over a vehicle for a littering violation in Wausau.

The driver, Calmes, showed signs of impairment and failed a standard field sobriety test. The sentence also calls for the completion of a parenting class, full-time employment or schooling, absolute sobriety from drugs and alcohol, and a withheld probation sentence.

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