Oconomowoc man accused of driving "swervy" with his son in the car

Oconomowoc man accused of driving “swervy” with his son in the car

WAUKESHA CO. (WITI) -- A 50-year-old Oconomowoc man is accused of driving drunk with a child in his car. That man is Steven Lubahn -- and he now faces a charge of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated - third offense, with a child in the vehicle.

Steven Lubahn

According to the criminal complaint, Oconomowoc police were called to the YMCA on Valley Rd. around 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday, June 24th. A baseball coach for Lubahn's son had called police after trying to keep the boy from "getting into his intoxicated father's vehicle."

When an officer arrived on the scene, he questioned Lubahn who was sitting on a sidewalk. A witness described him as being "very intoxicated." The officer asked Lubahn "what was going on, and he replied that he had a seizure. When asked if he needed an ambulance, the defendant stated he did not need one and denied drinking anything that day." Lubahn told the officer he "just got dizzy and fell over." When the officer asked if he drove, the defendant stated, "Yeah."

The complaint indicates the officer continued to question Lubahn -- and that his story about driving changed several times. At one point, Lubahn indicated a friend drove him to the YMCA. Another time, he said the friend was in the car with him.

During the questioning, the investigating officer learned Lubahn's son was in the car when Lubahn allegedly drove to the YMCA. After securing permission from Lubahn's wife to question the boy, the boy said his dad was driving a little "swervy" and that he almost hit a curb by a grocery store in Oconomowoc.

The complaint says Lubahn eventually complied with a preliminary breath test -- which reported a result of .384 -- or nearly five times the legal limit for driving. The officer then asked Lubahn to perform some field sobriety tests -- and the complaint indicates he failed those tests. Lubahn was then placed under arrest.

Lubahn made his initial court appearance on Tuesday, July 1st.

He is out of jail on a $10,000 cash bond.

Will he seek a plea deal in the case? His attorney says it's too early to tell.

"There's a big question of whether or not Mr. Lubahn was actually intoxicated at the time he was alleged to have been operating the motor vehicle. That's a big question in this case," Tom Grieve said.

Grieve, Lubahn's attorney says his client may not have been intoxicated when he first arrived at the YMCA. He says it's sometimes called the "Curve Defense."

"Obviously if I were to take a couple of shots right now on camera, my blood alcohol level is not immediately going to get to a high level. It's going to take time to be absorbed in my body," Grieve said.

Grieve says that is one of the many things they'll be looking at as part of this case.

Lubahn will be back in court later this month.

If convicted, Lubahn faces up to two years in prison and $4,000 in fines.

Monitor FOX6 News and FOX6Now.com for updates on this developing story.