By Jim Stevens
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
WAUKESHA, Wis. — An Okauchee man who led police on a highspeed chase, including a trip around gasoline pumps at a convenience store this summer, was ordered to spend 180 days in jail.
Matthew B. Brazelton, 36, of Okauchee entered guilty pleas to felony counts of attempting to flee an officer and fourth-offense drunken driving Dec. 7 and was subsequently sentenced by Waukesha County Circuit Court William J. Domina.
Along with the jail time, Domina ordered Brazelton to two years’ probation.
According to the criminal complaint, a Town of Oconomowoc officer on patrol at about 9 p.m. June 29 on North Lake Drive saw a car enter from Road E and quickly accelerate.
The officer followed the vehicle, which the officer estimated was traveling 50 mph to 55 mph in a 30-mph zone, the complaint said.
The officer attempted to stop the car on West Lake Drive but it turned onto Brown Street and then turned into the Kwik Trip convenience store, where it “circled all the pumps at a high rate of speed, squealing its tires,” the complaint said. The vehicle then sped off into a residential area at speeds of up to about 80 mph. It turned onto Meadow Court, went into a ditch and rolled over onto its roof, the complaint said.
As the officer got out of his squad, he saw Brazelton get out of his car with his hands raised and then run off. The officer used his Taser, but it did not affect Brazelton, who continued to run. After a about a quarter of a mile, Brazelton “appeared to be exhausted and dropped to the ground on his stomach,” the complaint said.
Brazelton said he had three beers after softball practice, and he tried to elude police because he did not think he had a valid driver’s license, the complaint said.
Brazelton failed a field sobriety test and a preliminary breath test showed he had an alcohol content of 0.068. A level of 0.08 is considered evidence of intoxication, but people with three or more drunken driving convictions are prohibited from driving with a level of 0.02 or higher. Brazelton was previously convicted of drunken driving in July 1996, December 1996 and October 2001.
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