By Brandi Makuski

A 55-year-old Plover man could face as much as 11 and a half years behind bars if he’s convicted of his 7th OWI.

Elfredo Elizondo was arrested on Dec. 30 of 2014 after officers were notified of Elizondo’s black pickup truck swerving as he traveled east on State Highway 54, near Locust Drive, shortly after 7 PM. Initially police noticed Elizonda was traveling well below the posted speed limit of 30 mph and ultimately pulled him over after he failed to signal a turn.

Elizondo attempted to leave his vehicle to address the officer once he was pulled over, and then began to argue about his turn signal with the officer, saying it did not work. He then attempted to demonstrate the blinker as nonfunctional, despite the vehicle being turned off at the time.

An officer at the scene noted Elizondo had been driving with both windows of his pickup truck down even though the temperature was below zero, and also seemed confused and spoke slowly. Elizondo also said he had no identification on his person at the time and admitted his license was revoked due to previous OWI convictions.

Elizondo was unable to stand up straight without holding on to his vehicle and failed field sobriety tests, but refused to take a breathalyzer and was taken to the hospital for a blood test. Elizondo has OWI convictions stemming back to 1990.