Extremely Intoxicated Bartender Arrested for OWI After a Night of Bar Hopping

Around 1:10 AM on May 6, 2024, Officer Matthew Toro with the Eau Claire Police Department was on patrol on Kirk Street and Esmond Road watching the Regency Hotel. He observed a 2004 Chevrolet pickup truck failing to stop at a stop sign and making an improper turn. He activated his emergency lights to initiate a traffic stop, and the driver pulled over on Valmont Avenue between S Hastings Way and Fairfax Street. He made contact with the driver, who was identified as 21-year-old Thea, and he asked her where she was coming from. Thea told Officer Toro that she was coming from the 5 O’Clock Club, and she also claimed to have been at the Alibi Lounge. She would later state that she had left work at the Smithtowne Pub as well.

As he was speaking with Thea, Officer Toro detected the odor of alcohol and observed other indicators of impairment. He asked Thea how much she had to drink, and Thea initially denied having consumed any alcohol before admitting to consuming 1 Tito’s. She contradicted herself multiple times when trying to explain where she was coming from. Around this time, Officer Noah Baumgarten from the neighboring Altoona Police Department arrived on scene to assist, and Officer Toro returned to his patrol car to run her information through the system. Officer Margaret Andersen also arrived on scene to assist. Based on his suspicion of impairment, Thea was asked to exit the vehicle and perform field sobriety exercises.

The first field sobriety exercise involved the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test. During the HGN test, Officer Toro observed the lack of smooth pursuit, distinct and sustained nystagmus at maximum deviation, and the onset of nystagmus prior to 45 degrees. He did not observe vertical nystagmus. The second exercise was the Walk and Turn test, and Thea failed to touch heel-to-toe on each step, took an incorrect number of steps, turned improperly, and used her arms for balance. The final field sobriety exercise was the One Leg Stand test. During the One Leg Stand test, Thea failed to raise her foot in the proper fashion and put her foot down multiple times before the test was complete.

After the field sobriety exercises were completed, Thea was offered an opportunity to blow into a preliminary breath test (PBT), but she ultimately refused. Based on her erratic driving, her indicators of impairment, her admission to consuming alcohol, and her inability to perform the field sobriety tests adequately, Thea was placed under arrest for operating while intoxicated (OWI).

Officers Toro and Andersen searched Thea before she was escorted to Officer Andersen’s patrol car. After conducting a search of her vehicle, her vehicle was moved into the parking lot of the nearby AutoZone instead of being towed. As Officer Andersen was completing her paperwork, Thea vomited, and nearly all of the liquid landed inside her patrol car. Thea indicated to Officer Andersen that she was not willing to submit breath samples after the Informing the Accused form was read to her.

Since she was on probation, Officer Anderson informed Thea that they had placed a hold on her so she would be booked into jail. Officer Andersen transported Thea to the Eau Claire County Jail for further processing. Thea did agree to to provide a PBT for the jail staff at 2:51 AM, and the results indicated a BAC level of 0.225%. She was issued the following citations: Operating while intoxicated (1st) (346.63(1)(A)), improper left turn (346.31(3)), and failure to stop at stop sign (346.46(1))

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