TOWN OF MARTELL – A Baldwin man tried fleeing the scene of a crash and hiding in a nearby barn before police arrested him for felony OWI.

Jeffrey Steven Allemann, 56, posted a $10,000 signature bond Jan. 20 in Pierce County Circuit Court on a felony OWI-fifth or sixth charge. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and/or fines up to $25,000.

According to the complaint:

At 11:44 p.m. Friday, Jan. 16 deputies were dispatched to Highway 63 and County Road Y (Wiff’s Corner) in the town of Martell for a red Chevy truck in the ditch. The complainant said a man who was possibly drunk was walking south away from the crash and had offered them money for a ride to Baldwin.

When police arrived on the scene, they found a Don Julio tequila bottle on the rear passenger seat, a sealed six pack of beer on the floor and an empty bottle in front of the truck on the freshly fallen snow. They also located a single set of foot tracks that went from the truck and towards N7932 and N7924 US HWY 63. The tracks went from the garage of N7932 south past the residence of N7924 and towards a red free stall cattle barn. The tracks continued around the east side of the building and appeared to enter the building on the northeast side through an opening.

While searching the barn, police heard a phone ring and immediately shut off. They located Allemann in a hay pile in the south part of the barn. He didn’t follow police orders to get up out of the hay pile. He smelled of alcohol and had red, glossy eyes. Once officers helped him up, he had poor balance and slow, delayed speech.

Allemann denied driving the truck and said a friend had been driving. He couldn’t provide a name or description of his alleged friend. He refused to perform field sobriety tests or a Breathalyzer, so deputies obtained a warrant and took him to Western Wisconsin Health in Baldwin for a blood draw. Police located the truck’s keys in Allemann’s coat pocket, which were provided to the tow truck driver. After the blood draw, police transported Allemann to Pierce County Jail without incident. He has four prior OWI convictions.

The property owner at N7924 US 63 confirmed to police she had not given Allemann permission to be inside the cattle barn.

Allemann is set to appear at a status conference at 11:45 a.m. at Feb. 18.