WKBT La Crosse, WI-NewsChannel 8-UPDATE: Rep. Wood says life has improved with sobriety

UPDATE: Rep. Wood says life has improved with sobriety

SPARTA, Wis. (AP) -- The state lawmaker arrested three times for impaired driving says he's sober and is trying to put his life back together.

Rep. Jeff Wood appeared in Monroe County Circuit Court Wednesday where a plea agreement was taken off the table. Wood says he didn't completely understand the consequences of the agreement.

He says he attends Alcoholic Anonymous meetings.

Wood spent 34 days in jail for an impaired driving offense in Chippewa County. He also has a charge pending in Marathon County.

A status conference in Monroe County is set for Aug. 16.

PREVIOUS STORY

The case against a Wisconsin lawmaker charged with OWI in Monroe County is delayed after his attorney withdraws.  

Rep. Jeff Wood, an independent from Chippewa Falls, was arrested in Tomah in October 2009 for his fifth alleged OWI.

Wednesday in Monroe County Circuit Court a judge approved the request by Wood's attorney, Tracey Wood, to withdraw from the case.

A plea hearing had been scheduled for Wednesday. A status hearing for the case has been scheduled August 16.

Wood was convicted in Columbia County in April and has a pending case in Marathon County. He was previously convicted in 1991 and 1992.

Wood was censured by the Wisconsin Assembly in April. He is not seeking re-election.

Previous Story - Updated October 2009

TOMAH, Wis. (AP) -- A squad car video released Tuesday shows a Wisconsin lawmaker falling over during a sobriety test before he is arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of prescription drugs.

The video released by Tomah Police shows Rep. Jeffrey Wood getting pulled over after officers see his Buick Skylark stopped in the middle of a road, and then slowly swerving across both lanes of traffic.

During a sobriety test in which Wood is asked to walk a straight line, he stumbles backward into the back of his car before falling down into grass. An officer helps him up, and Wood is put in handcuffs a short time later without incident.

The video also shows police seizing bottles of prescription drugs that were on Wood during the arrest.

Previous Story - Updated October 27 at 8:12 a.m. 
Jeffery Wood to enter Minnesota rehab clinic

CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. (AP) -- A Wisconsin lawmaker arrested three times for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in 10 months plans expects to enter a Minnesota clinic this week.

State Rep. Jeff Wood told the Leader-Telegram in Eau Claire Monday that he expects to enter a stricter, 30 to 45-day program at Veterans Hospital in St. Cloud, Minn. Thursday.

Wood said he was out on a day pass last week from an inpatient treatment facility when he was arrested in Tomah in western Wisconsin. He acknowledged taking more prescription medication than was prescribed.

The Chippewa Falls independent was first elected to the Assembly as a Republican in 2002.

Wood has said he doesn't plan to resign, but won't seek re-election next fall.

Wood acknowledged he has a serious abuse program.

Previous Story - Updated October 23 at 4:15 p.m.
Arrested Wisconsin lawmaker says he won't run in 2010 

Leadership in the Wisconsin Assembly are moving forward with a plan to remove a Wisconsin lawmaker from office.

Rep. Jeffrey Wood was arrested for the third time in 10 months for suspicion of driving under the influence.

Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan and Assembly Minority Leader Jeff Fitzgerald delivered a letter to Wood saying the Assembly will take action on a resolution to remove Wood from office.

In a statement released Friday, Wood says he is sorry for embarrassing his family and for disgracing the Wisconsin Legislature. His statement does not address calls that he resign, or the resolution that seeks his expulsion from the Assembly.

Previous Story - Posted October 23 at 2:37 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A Wisconsin lawmaker says he won't run for re-election next year following his third arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in 10 months.

Rep. Jeffrey Wood says he is sorry for embarrassing his family and for disgracing the Wisconsin Legislature. But his statement does not address calls that he resign or a pending resolution that seeks his expulsion from the Assembly.

Wood says he faces many difficult decisions in the weeks ahead, and his primary focus must be on beating his struggles with drug and alcohol abuse.

Wood says he was out on a day pass from an in-patient treatment facility when he was arrested in Tomah on Wednesday.

Previous Story - Posted October 23 at 9:39 a.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A witness says a Wisconsin lawmaker was driving so dangerously before his arrest Wednesday that "he could have killed anyone on the streets."

Jeanette Marculis was driving behind Rep. Jeffrey Wood on Highway 21 on Wednesday on her way to Walmart in Tomah with her 11-year-old daughter.

Her daughter suggested calling police after Wood swerved onto the shoulder of the road and then into oncoming traffic. Marculis says Wood again swerved into a line of traffic and some cars had to go off to the side to miss him.

Marculis says Wood almost rear-ended her car after she pulled into a parking lot, and then almost had a head-on collision with another vehicle.

She says she was shocked to learn Wood was a state lawmaker, and said he should resign.

Previous Story - Updated October 23 at 8:51 a.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The Tomah Police Department says it will not release a video showing Rep. Jeffrey Wood being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Police Chief Wesley Revels said Friday that releasing the video and audio taken from a squad car during Wednesday's arrest would hurt Wood's ability to get a fair trial.

He said Wood's constitutional rights outweigh the public interest in seeing the video.

The decision is at odds with the State Patrol, which has released video from Wood's two other arrests on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in the past 10 months.

Wood was arrested in Tomah on Wednesday afternoon after a citizen reported a dangerously erratic driver.

Previous Story - Posted October 22 at 3:15 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Gov. Jim Doyle says Rep. Jeff Wood should resign from office after his third arrest for driving under the influence in the past 10 months.

Doyle said Thursday that the cleanest way to deal with the problem would be for Wood to resign.

Doyle says, "The citizens of his area really need representation in the Legislature and right now they're really not getting that representation. I really don't see how he continues."

Wood is an independent from Chippewa Falls. He was charged Thursday with third-offense operating while under the influence of an intoxicant and misdemeanor bail jumping. He faces possible jail time on both charges.

Doyle says Wood should step aside to focus on his legal and personal problems.

Previous Story - Posted October 22 at 12:54 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A criminal complaint says a Wisconsin lawmaker backed up his car on a highway and nearly struck another vehicle before he was arrested Wednesday for driving under the influence.

Rep. Jeffrey Wood told officers who pulled him over in Tomah he had taken one or two anti-depression pills, but they did not affect his driving. The complaint said Wood told officers he may have scraped a couple of curbs with his car because he was not paying attention.

The complaint said Wood was stumbling and fell to the ground during a sobriety test. Police found four bottles of prescription drugs in Wood's possession.

Wood was charged with third-offense operating while under the influence of an intoxicant and misdemeanor bail jumping.

Previous Story - Posted October 22 at 10:04 a.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A Wisconsin lawmaker is expected to make a court appearance Thursday after he was arrested the day before for operating while intoxicated and bail jumping.

Rep. Jeffrey Wood is expected to appear at a bond hearing where a judge could set the conditions for his release from jail.

Monroe County District Attorney Dan Cary said he typically asks for a cash bond in bail jumping cases, but he was still reviewing Wood's arrest.

The independent from Chippewa Falls was jailed in Monroe County after his arrest Wednesday afternoon. Police officers say they observed his vehicle swerving and drive over a curb.

Wood did not have alcohol in his system but police found prescription drugs that were believed to be the source of his intoxication.

Previous Story - Posted October 21 at 8:53 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A Wisconsin lawmaker has been arrested for operating while intoxicated for the third time in a less than a year.

Rep. Jeffrey Wood was arrested Wednesday afternoon in Tomah after a citizen reported an erratic driver to police.

The Tomah Police Department said Wood was taken into custody for operating under the influence of an intoxicant and bail jumping.

The police said Wood, an independent from Chippewa Falls, was taken to the Monroe County Jail and would be referred to the district attorney for prosecution.

The arrest comes as Wood is already facing a resolution seeking his expulsion from the Assembly from one of his colleagues, Rep. Steve Nass.