EAU CLAIRE — The Durand man authorities say was caught driving drunk for a 10th time in 2021 is getting a new judge.
Douglas Van Buskirk, 61, was charged after a convenience store clerk in Union reported a customer appeared to be intoxicated. According to the criminal complaint, the clerk told police a man had come in before 9:30 a.m. to buy beer, but already smelled strongly of alcohol. The clerk jotted down the man’s license plate number and watched as he drove to a second store.
An Eau Claire County deputy went to the second store and was told the man, identified as Van Buskirk, was in the bathroom. He initially denied having been drinking, though he said he did buy the beer. Van Buskirk, whose driving privileges had been revoked, told the deputy someone else had driven between the stores, but he didn’t know where the other person had gone.
Van Buskirk refused field sobriety tests, but blew a 0.115 when tested.
In November, Van Buskirk was scheduled for a one-day trial in the case. He waived his right to an attorney, but was instructed to have a breath test administered when Judge Jon Theisen suspected him of being intoxicated in court. Van Buskirk didn’t return from the break and video showed him leaving the courthouse. That led to the trial’s jury being dismissed.
On Thursday, Van Buskirk was back in court with both the OWI charge and new charges of bail jumping on the docket. Theisen granted a defense request to have the case reassigned, since the latter charges were based on Van Buskirk’s decision to walk away from the earlier trial, which created a potential conflict of interests.
The case will be reassigned, though Theisen did set a new trial date of July 15-16.
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