A 27-year-old man has been sentenced to two years in prison after crashing into a sign outside Waukesha City Hall while driving with his headlights switched off.
Colton Sanders also received two years of extended supervision after pleading no contest to a felony firearms charge in Waukesha County. Two other charges were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
Waukesha City Hall crash
Police were called shortly before midnight on 21 February after reports of a silver car being driven recklessly near Delafield Street and Madison Street.
An officer approaching City Hall saw the vehicle’s rear lights and found it had struck the stone sign for the Waukesha City Hall Municipal Court. The car had sustained significant damage to its front end.
Sanders was inside the vehicle and was repeatedly trying to restart it. Officers later said he told them he had taken a turn “a little too fast” and had turned off his headlights.
According to the criminal complaint, Sanders had slow, slurred speech and told an officer: “You know how it is, fast car.” He said he had been drinking at a friend’s house but claimed the beers were non-alcoholic.
Sanders declined to take field sobriety tests without his lawyer present. He later provided a breath sample that recorded a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.13, above Wisconsin’s legal driving limit of 0.08.
During the arrest, Sanders told the officer he had a weapon. Police found a handgun in his waistband with a loaded magazine and a round in the chamber, along with an additional magazine containing more ammunition.
A large fixed-blade knife was also found concealed near the driver’s seat of the car.
