A 58-year-old man faces prison for his fifth OWI charge following a traffic stop on Dec. 2.
Michael D. Fryman, who hails from Calumet Co., was taken into custody after he mistakenly produced the photo ID of a black woman during a 2:44 PM traffic stop near Hwy. 10 and County Hwy. QQ.
Fryman was pulled over by a Portage Co. deputy for driving recklessly after allegedly crossing the center line and driving more than 90 miles an hour, according to the complaint.
Fryman appeared disoriented, the complaint said, and was slurring his speech as he produced what he thought was his driver’s license to the deputy — but the license belonged to a black female. When the deputy pointed out the error, Fryman claimed the ID belonged to his deceased wife.
He eventually produced his own driver’s license, which had been revoked due to previous OWI convictions.
While he initially denied consuming any alcohol that day, Fryman later admitted to deputies he’d consumed “three or four beers”. While searching his vehicle, deputies also found a glass filled with ice, vodka and orange juice in the cup holder.
As deputies attempted to conduct field sobriety tests on Fryman, he appeared confused and asked if he could go home; then sat on the hood of the deputy’s squad car and unzipped his fly in an unsuccessful attempt to urinate in front of the officer.
After failing the roadway sobriety test, Fryman was taken into custody and transported to Ministry St. Michael’s Hospital. On the way, Fryman repeatedly asked deputies “what county they were in”, according to the complaint, and briefly passed out while going over paperwork with law enforcement at the hospital.
For the OWI, Fryman faces up to six years in prison and $10,000 in fines. Additional charges of operating with a positive blood alcohol content, fifth offense, and operating a motor vehicle while revoked could net him an additional seven years behind bars. His previous OWI convictions stem back as far as 1998.
He returns to court Jan. 3 at 10:30 AM.
