A Prescott man has been charged with his eighth OWI after he sped through city streets trying to evade police.

Jeremy Jay Marek, 51, was ordered to pay $500 cash bail Sept. 23 in Pierce County Circuit Court on felony OWI-eighth and misdemeanor bail jumping charges. If convicted, he faces a maximum allowable sentence of 12.5 years in prison and/or fines up to $25,000.

According to the complaint:

At 9:43 p.m. Sept. 22, a Prescott police officer on routine patrol was traveling westbound on Highway 10 at the Cherry Street intersection. He saw a Chevy Tahoe traveling eastbound on Highway 10, coming from Minnesota across the bridge. It stopped in the right-hand turn lane for a red traffic light way before the stop line. This piqued the officer’s curiosity, who suspected the driver might be impaired, showing lack of depth perception.

The officer proceeded onto Broad Street through downtown while the Tahoe continued to sit at the intersection. Once the officer reached the end of downtown at Kinnickinnic and Broad streets, the Tahoe slowly turned right onto Broad Street.

The officer believed the Tahoe was trying to avoid him, so he came to almost a complete stop to see where the Tahoe would go next. The Tahoe turned left onto Orange Street, so the officer turned left onto Kinnickinnic Street, running parallel. The Tahoe accelerated quickly to a high speed while kicking up a large cloud of dust. When approaching Flora Street, the officer turned on his overhead emergency lights and stopped in front of the Tahoe, who was also approaching the same intersection, to prevent it from continuing.

The officer shined his spotlight into the vehicle and noted the driver was alone. He also had a dazed expression on his face. Marek told the officer he was upset about a football game that he was listening to. He admitted to speeding and estimated he was going 50 mph. He smelled strongly of alcohol and cologne but told the office he had had no alcohol to drink that day. Marek claimed he was coming from work, saying he got done at 8 p.m., nearly two hours before the traffic stop. He had bloodshot glossy eyes and was talking very slowly.

When running his information, the officer learned Marek had seven prior OWIs and an open circuit court case that restricted him from possessing or consuming alcohol. He refused to perform field sobriety tests or take a breath test, but the officer had probable cause for an OWI arrest.

After being handcuffed, Marek told police he had gone to “the Island” (Treasure Island Casino) to pick up a friend after work. The officer took him to River Falls Area Hospital for a blood draw, then Pierce County Jail where he was turned over to jail staff.

His next court appearance is a status conference at 1:45 p.m. Oct. 15.