Crime & Safety

Car Crash Ends in 5th OWI Charge for Port Man

A 32-year-old Port Washington man failed field sobriety tests after driving up a curb and hitting a sign.

A Port Washington man is facing his fifth OWI charge after failing field sobriety tests and being found with a bag of what officers believed to be synthetic marijuana.

Kevin Kroboth, 32, faces one felony charge of operating while intoxicated, fifth or sixth offense, and a misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia. He faces 6 years, 30 days in prison, $10,500 in fines and revocation of his driving privileges for up to eight years.

A Port Washington officer in the area of West Grand Avenue and North Sweetwater Boulevard at 4:12 p.m. Feb. 13 was alerted to a crash after hearing a "crunching noise," according to the criminal complaint. He noticed tire tracks from a car running up the curb and hitting a road sign, where it was resting.

Find out what's happening in Port Washington-Saukvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The officer spoke to Kroboth, who had been driving and was the only passenger in the car. According to the complaint, a preminary breath test showed a .0 blood alcohol content, but the officer noted Kroboth's "speech was slow and ... his eyes were extremely red and blood shot."

The officer asked Kroboth if he had been smoking marijuana, and he said no. The officer then went on to conduct field sobriety tests, such as a toe-to-heel walk and the reciting the alphabet, and according to the report Kroboth failed these tests.

Find out what's happening in Port Washington-Saukvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The officer searched Kroboth's car and found a glass vial that read "Sonic Zero Cherry 1.5g" with a green leafy substance inside. Kroboth denied that it was marijuana, and the officer, from his training and experience, believed the substance to be K2, which is a synthetic drug resembling marijuana.Β 

  • Related:

Kroboth was taken to Aurora Hospital for a blood test to check for substances; he has prior OWI convictions in 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005.

Kroboth will appear in court at 8:30 a.m. March 20 for a status hearing.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.

More from Port Washington-Saukville