City of W. Bend v. Wille
City of W. Bend v. Wille
Opinion of the Court
¶ 1 Erik J. Wille appeals his conviction for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant (OWI) and operating a motor vehicle with a prohibited alcohol concentration (PAC).
¶ 2 On November 10, 2016, at approximately 7:55 p.m., the City of West Bend Police Department received a call from the manager at Wendy's that a vehicle with open beers was in the Wendy's drive-thru.
¶ 3 Wille was ultimately issued citations for OWI and PAC. Wille moved to suppress the evidence obtained from Behagen's stop on the grounds that Behagen had nothing more than an unparticularized hunch that Wille had open intoxicants in his car. Wille also argued that the City did not produce the citizen informant (the Wendy's manager) at the suppression hearing; did not provide testimony as to the location of the beer cans; did not provide testimony as to whether Wille or his passenger were drinking from the beer cans; and did not provide testimony as to whether the beer cans were full, partially full, or empty.
¶ 4 Reasonable suspicion to make an investigatory stop exists when a police officer is able to point to "specific and articulable facts which, taken together with rational inferences from those facts, objectively warrant a reasonable person with the knowledge and experience of the officer to believe that criminal activity is afoot." State v. Rutzinski ,
¶ 5 Behagen suspected Wille of violating WIS. STAT. § 346.935,
¶ 6 Regarding Wille's challenge to the source of Behagen's knowledge, we look to an informant's veracity and basis of knowledge to determine the authority of police to rely upon an informant's information. Rutzinski ,
¶ 7 As Behagen had a particularized and objective basis for suspecting that Wille had open intoxicants in his vehicle, the circuit court correctly denied Wille's motion to suppress. Wille's conviction is affirmed.
By the Court. -Judgment affirmed.
This opinion will not be published. See WIS. STAT. RULE 809.23(1)(b)4.
This appeal is decided by one judge pursuant to
Willie was found guilty of both OWI and PAC. It is not clear from the record to which conviction the penalty was applied. See
The manager later told police that "she looked into the vehicle, she could see the male passenger had a beer in between his legs and there was another beer in the front cup holder of the vehicle."
Wisconsin Stat. § 346.935 provides in relevant part:
(1) No person may drink alcohol beverages or inhale nitrous oxide while he or she is in any motor vehicle when the vehicle is upon a highway.
(2) No person may possess on his or her person, in a privately owned motor vehicle upon a public highway, any bottle or receptacle containing alcohol beverages or nitrous oxide if the bottle or receptacle has been opened, the seal has been broken or the contents of the bottle or receptacle have been partially removed or released.
(3) The owner of a privately owned motor vehicle, or the driver of the vehicle if the owner is not present in the vehicle, shall not keep, or allow to be kept in the motor vehicle when it is upon a highway any bottle or receptacle containing alcohol beverages or nitrous oxide if the bottle or receptacle has been opened, the seal has been broken or the contents of the bottle or receptacle have been partially removed or released. This subsection does not apply if the bottle or receptacle is kept in the trunk of the vehicle or, if the vehicle has no trunk, in some other area of the vehicle not normally occupied by the driver or passengers. A utility compartment or glove compartment is considered to be within the area normally occupied by the driver and passengers.
Wille argues, and the State agrees, that the Wendy's drive-thru is not a public highway as required in the statute. We note, however, that reasonable suspicion may arise if a traffic violation "has occurred ... or have grounds to reasonably suspect a violation has been or will be committed." See State v. Popke ,
In State v. Sisk ,
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.