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Gratiot woman sentenced to jail for third OWI
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MONROE - A Gratiot woman was sentenced to probation and jail last week for her third OWI offense, after Monroe Police found her slumped unconscious over the steering wheel with a child in the back seat in December 2016.

Nancy Lee Pfaff, 50, formerly of Monroe, pleaded no contest March 1 to the third-offense felony charge of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of a restricted controlled substance with a passenger younger than 16. She also pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of possessing drug paraphernalia in an unrelated case.

Other charges, including felony bail jumping and possessing an illegally obtained prescription drug, were dismissed as part of a plea deal.

Green County Judge James Beer sentenced Pfaff to two years on probation, with conditions that she spend 45 days in jail, have her driver's license revoked four years and pay $2,327 on a payment plan to the court. If she breaks conditions of her probation, she must spend an additional seven months and two weeks in jail.

Beer also ordered her to successfully complete alcohol or drug treatment and counseling before she can get her driver's license back.

According to court records:

Pfaff was pulled to the side of the off-ramp at 6th Avenue West from Wisconsin 11 with her car still in drive when police found her at about 5 p.m. Dec. 21, 2016. An officer knocked on the car's windows to get her attention but she didn't respond, and all the car doors were locked.

Once a second squad car arrived and parked in front of Pfaff's vehicle to prevent it from lurching into oncoming traffic, police smashed in the passenger window with a baton. The noise woke up Pfaff, and she sat up. An officer recognized her and asked her to put the vehicle in park.

It was at this point that officers noticed a child in the seat behind Pfaff.

Pfaff failed three of four sobriety tests and was determined to be under the influence of drugs.

About three weeks later, she was again arrested in Monroe after police responded to an anonymous tip that she was smoking marijuana, in violation of a bond condition that she not consume or possess intoxicants or controlled substances.



- Katjusa Cisar