Edgar Man Accused of 5th OWI Enters Plea in Marathon County Court

Wednesday, July 10th, 2024 -- 1:00 PM

(Mike Leischner, WSAU) An Edgar man accused of his 5th OWI has pled not guilty to the charge in Marathon County court.

According to Mike Leischner with WSAU, Dennis Zielinski entered the plea on Tuesday morning. Charges stem from an April 15th arrest in the Town of Emmett, where the 47-year-old is accused of crashing his vehicle into the ditch along Eau Pleine Park Road.

Responding officers found Zielinski passed out behind the wheel of a pickup, adding that he appeared confused and couldn’t tell them basic information like his address and phone number. Officers add that he also randomly told them he loved them.

His blood alcohol level was .232, significantly higher than his maximum level for driving which is .02 due to his prior convictions. Zielinski faces up to ten years in prison and thousands in fines if found guilty.

He’s free on a $5,000 cash bond and will return to court on August 26th for a pretrial conference.

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