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Crime & Safety

Oak Creek Man Finds Honesty Not Always Best Policy

30-year-old told allegedly officers he had "been drinking all day" and lamented marijuana being taken from his car.

A 30-year-old Oak Creek man is facing drunken driving charges and felony drug charges after he got a little too honest with Milwaukee police officers.

Stanley Joe Bates was charged in Milwaukee County Circuit Court Friday with one count of second offense possession of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. If convicted, he faces up to 3 ½ years in prison and $10,000 in fines.

According to the criminal complaint:

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At 7:58 p.m. Monday, two Milwaukee police officers were on patrol in the 2600 block of W. Auer Ave. when they saw Bates sitting in his parked car blocking traffic. As the officers began to approach his car, Bates drove off, but he was pulled over about one block away.

As they walked to the car, they saw Bates lean over and place something below him. While speaking to him, the officers noticed he smelled of alcohol and saw an open can of Colt 45 beer sitting in the center console.

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When asked how much he had to drink, Bates said “I've been drinking all day, however many you want it to be."

He then gave the officers his driver's license and informed them it was suspended. Police ordered him out of the car, and when he got out, the officers spotted a bag of marijuana in the driver's side door.

Bates refused to take field sobriety tests or a Breathalyzer, so he was placed under arrest and taken to the hospital for a blood draw.

However, on his way back from the hospital, Bates told the officers "man, I wish I got to smoke some of my weed before you guys took it."

According to court records, Bates was convicted of another drug charge in 2006 in which he volunteered too much information in South Milwaukee. In that incident, he began pounding on the windows of a South Milwaukee bar in the 1900 block of 17th Avenue at 2:45 a.m., telling people he needed to come inside because he had a lot of drugs on him. When police arrived, he tried stashing a bag of cocaine in a mailbox. That led to a tussle with officers, who attempted to stun him a Taser.

And in 2001, Bates was convicted of one count of THC possession after Oak Creek police officers were called to a hotel for an underage drinking party. Bates had one pound of marijuana with him, though he first told officers he found the bag under a mattress when he thought there was a broken spring. He later admitted buying the drugs on the north side of Milwaukee.

He’s currently being held in Milwaukee County Jail on a $350 signature bond.

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