By Joe Bachman

A 42-year-old man will faces charges of his sixth OWI after police say he was found under the influence and behind a wheel.

Shane Thelen, of Nekoosa, faces charges of his sixth offense of operating while intoxicated, as well as operating with a restricted controlled substance in his blood. According to police reports, on Dec. 24, 2015, an officer spotted a vehicle driving sporadically, traveling northbound on Highway 13. The vehicle was reported to have been drifting back and forth between lanes, and almost struck another vehicle.

Police pulled over the driver on Kester Rd. and was identified as Shane Thelen. Police noted that Thelen’s behavior seemed very confused and disoriented, and that his speech was thick.

Thelen reportedly failed standard field sobriety tests, and was soon arrested and taken to Riverview Hospital for blood tests.

Blood tests confirmed that Thelen had Benzoylecgonine in his blood, which is a metabolite of cocaine. This is a restricted controlled substance.

If convicted, Thelen faces six years imprisonment and up to $10,000 in fines per charge. His preliminary hearing is set for Jun. 10. he is currently out on a $500 bond. Records indicate that Thelen has had five other OWI charges since Jan. 1, 1989.