Driver Convicted of Hitting Bicyclist While Drunk

As a tearful group of family and friends watched, Ann C. Stelling entered a no-contest plea in an Ozaukee County courtroom on Wednesday morning for charges related to a , who was biking home after fishing in downtown Port last fall. Splan was 43 at the time of the incident.

Judge Paul Malloy found Stelling guilty of four counts, including a felony charge of operating while intoxicated and causing injury. She was then taken into custody from the courtroom; she had been out on bond, but

Stelling's attorney, Perry Lieuallen, asked the judge to allow Stelling to leave the jail so that she could continue working but Malloy denied the request.

"She hasn't done well on her bail," Malloy said, adding that her ability to leave for work shifts only puts her and the public at further risk for repeat incidents.

Lieuallen requested a presentencing investigation for Stelling, whose actual sentencing hearing is set for 1:30 p.m. Aug. 4. A presentencing investigation looks into the history of a person accused of committing a crime to determine if there were any extenuating circumstances that may give reason to increase or decrease the sentence.

The incident happened on Sept. 16, when Stelling, 518 W. Chestnut St., Port Washington, was driving near the 900 block of North Wisconsin Street. She said a bicyclist came off Douglas Street riding in front of her, according to the criminal complaint, and that she never saw the bicyclist until the collision.

Officer Daniel Wolff spoke with Stelling the day of the accident and noticed strong scents of alcohol and an incoherent appearance shortly after the incident, the criminal report said. She failed field sobriety tests, and a preliminary breath test showed a blood alcohol level of .20, more than twice the .08 legal limit.

The bicyclist suffered injuries including a cut to the back of his head, a concussion and some scrapes on his back, and was admitted to Columbia St. Mary's Hospital.

The state dismissed two counts — operating with PAC, third offense and operating with PAC causing injury, second offense — as part of a plea deal.

Stelling pleaded guilty to the following charges:

• Operating while intoxicated and causing injury, a felony charge, for which the sentence could be not more than $10,000 in fines, six years of prison or both as well as one to two years of drivers' license revocation.
• Third-offense operating while intoxicated, which could mean fines of $600 to $2,000 as well as 45 days to one year in county jail;
• Two counts of felony bail jumping, each punishable by fines of not more than $10,000, six years in prison or both.

The state's deal suggests a 60-month sentence, with 24 of those months in prison and the next 36 months in extended supervision. It also calls for one year of county jail time, revocation of her drivers' license for 36 months as well as use of an interlock device, and two years consecutive probation for the bail jumping counts.

The sentence will not be set in stone until the hearing on Aug. 4.