MONROE - A Monroe man who witnesses say was driving drunk in a bowling alley parking lot with his 9-year-old son in the car pleaded guilty Wednesday to a fifth-offense charge of drunken driving.
Aaron L. Busch, 35, pleaded guilty in Green County Circuit Court to the felony charge of operating while intoxicated with a passenger younger than 16. As part of a joint plea agreement, a felony charge of operating with a prohibited blood-alcohol concentration with a passenger younger than 16 was dismissed.
Judge Thomas Vale sentenced Busch to three years on probation with a condition of one year in jail, following the joint recommendation of Assistant District Attorney Laura Kohl and defense attorney Robert Duxstad.
Other conditions of Busch's probation include a four-year driver's license revocation, a $1,200 fine and successfully completing all treatment and counseling deemed appropriate by his probation agent.
Busch has five prior OWI convictions on his record and was initially charged in the case with a sixth-offense OWI.
However, based on a determination in a 2010 Green County OWI case against Busch, one of his prior offenses - a conviction in Stephenson County, Illinois - cannot legally be counted toward his total number of OWIs. The Stephenson County conviction remains on his record, but his attorney in the 2010 case successfully argued that it cannot count toward his total number of OWIs in terms of charging because Busch "had not fully understood his rights to legal counsel" at the time, Kohl said.
The latest case stems from an arrest on the evening of May 27 outside Leisure Lanes, 2308 6th Ave., according to the criminal complaint. Monroe police were called to the scene for a report of a fight in progress, after a witness confronted Busch for driving drunk in the parking lot with his 9-year-old son in his maroon Pontiac Firebird.
Busch had "very slurred speech" and glassy, bloodshot eyes, according to an officer's report. Busch "was not able to complete a coherent thought and kept jumping around and repeating himself," the officer wrote.
A breathalyzer test at the scene showed Busch had a blood-alcohol concentration of .218 percent, over two and a half times the legal limit for driving. A blood test performed later that night at Monroe Clinic showed a .178 BAC.
An officer found two empty 16-ounce cans of beer, a partially full can and several cold, unopened cans inside the Firebird.
Busch showed "poor judgement" that night outside Leisure Lanes, but "the amount of driving in this case was minimal at best," Duxstad said Wednesday at Busch's sentencing.
Duxstad said Busch was out that night celebrating a move the next day to New York for a good job. Busch ended up suffering a back injury on the job and is living off worker's compensation while he awaits a possible surgery on his back.
"He's a very respectful, intelligent person," Duxstad said. "I guess there's an underlying alcohol issue with him, although when he's on probation, he's been able to not drink."
Busch declined to make a statement to the court before Vale sentenced him, but under Vale's questioning, he explained that he had been moving his car from one parking spot to another at Leisure Lanes.
"I had my ride coming to pick me up," Busch said. "I thought I was doing the right thing."
But, Vale pointed out, "accidents can happen in a parking lot, too."
Ultimately, Vale said, Busch has a responsibility to his two children, ages 9 and 10. The children will ask, "Why is Dad in jail?" and "that's not the legacy you want to leave your children."
This is not the first time Busch has been in Vale's courtroom for sentencing in a drunken driving case. Court records show Vale sentenced Busch in 2011 to 35 days in jail and one year on probation for a third-offense OWI conviction.
Aaron L. Busch, 35, pleaded guilty in Green County Circuit Court to the felony charge of operating while intoxicated with a passenger younger than 16. As part of a joint plea agreement, a felony charge of operating with a prohibited blood-alcohol concentration with a passenger younger than 16 was dismissed.
Judge Thomas Vale sentenced Busch to three years on probation with a condition of one year in jail, following the joint recommendation of Assistant District Attorney Laura Kohl and defense attorney Robert Duxstad.
Other conditions of Busch's probation include a four-year driver's license revocation, a $1,200 fine and successfully completing all treatment and counseling deemed appropriate by his probation agent.
Busch has five prior OWI convictions on his record and was initially charged in the case with a sixth-offense OWI.
However, based on a determination in a 2010 Green County OWI case against Busch, one of his prior offenses - a conviction in Stephenson County, Illinois - cannot legally be counted toward his total number of OWIs. The Stephenson County conviction remains on his record, but his attorney in the 2010 case successfully argued that it cannot count toward his total number of OWIs in terms of charging because Busch "had not fully understood his rights to legal counsel" at the time, Kohl said.
The latest case stems from an arrest on the evening of May 27 outside Leisure Lanes, 2308 6th Ave., according to the criminal complaint. Monroe police were called to the scene for a report of a fight in progress, after a witness confronted Busch for driving drunk in the parking lot with his 9-year-old son in his maroon Pontiac Firebird.
Busch had "very slurred speech" and glassy, bloodshot eyes, according to an officer's report. Busch "was not able to complete a coherent thought and kept jumping around and repeating himself," the officer wrote.
A breathalyzer test at the scene showed Busch had a blood-alcohol concentration of .218 percent, over two and a half times the legal limit for driving. A blood test performed later that night at Monroe Clinic showed a .178 BAC.
An officer found two empty 16-ounce cans of beer, a partially full can and several cold, unopened cans inside the Firebird.
Busch showed "poor judgement" that night outside Leisure Lanes, but "the amount of driving in this case was minimal at best," Duxstad said Wednesday at Busch's sentencing.
Duxstad said Busch was out that night celebrating a move the next day to New York for a good job. Busch ended up suffering a back injury on the job and is living off worker's compensation while he awaits a possible surgery on his back.
"He's a very respectful, intelligent person," Duxstad said. "I guess there's an underlying alcohol issue with him, although when he's on probation, he's been able to not drink."
Busch declined to make a statement to the court before Vale sentenced him, but under Vale's questioning, he explained that he had been moving his car from one parking spot to another at Leisure Lanes.
"I had my ride coming to pick me up," Busch said. "I thought I was doing the right thing."
But, Vale pointed out, "accidents can happen in a parking lot, too."
Ultimately, Vale said, Busch has a responsibility to his two children, ages 9 and 10. The children will ask, "Why is Dad in jail?" and "that's not the legacy you want to leave your children."
This is not the first time Busch has been in Vale's courtroom for sentencing in a drunken driving case. Court records show Vale sentenced Busch in 2011 to 35 days in jail and one year on probation for a third-offense OWI conviction.