PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles man who had multiple DUI convictions was stopped by Good Samaritans last week before police determined that he was driving four times over the legal limit for alcohol.
John Richard Schaack, 43, had a 0.32 percent blood alcohol level after the Chevrolet Suburban he was driving was boxed in by two other vehicles on the 1900 block of West 18th Street in Port Angeles, police said.
The legal driving limit in Washington is 0.08 percent.
Port Angeles Police Officer JJ Smith said Schaack has been convicted of at least three DUIs in the past 10 years.
A DUI is a class B felony if the driver has had three or more DUIs in 10 years, according to state law.
Superior Court Judge Brian Coughenour set Schaack’s bail at $100,000 Thursday as requested by Clallam County prosecutors.
Schaack was booked into the Clallam County jail Wednesday for investigation of felony DUI, second-degree driving with a suspended license, driving without an ignition interlock and two counts of hit-and-run.
He remained in jail on Saturday.
The Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will consider filing formal charges at 1 p.m. Monday.
City police investigated a report of a hit-and-run at the Clallam County Juvenile and Family Services Facility at 2:52 p.m. Wednesday and found Schaack inside a Suburban that was wedged between two vehicles, according to the affidavit for probable cause.
Witnesses told police that Schaack struck a work truck on South L Street, continued along West 18th Street, pulled into a driveway and struck a second vehicle as he re-entered 18th Street, court papers said.
Police said the two hit-and-run victims used their vehicles to stop Schaack in the westbound lane on West 18th Street, police said.
Schaack was slurring his words and had bloodshot, watery eyes after he stumbled out of the Suburban, Smith said.
Multiple beer cans and a drug pipe were found in the vehicle Schaack was driving, Smith said.
“I could smell an odor of intoxicants coming from Schaack’s breath,” Smith wrote in the affidavit for probable cause.
“Schaack was unable to maintain his balance or walk in a straight line.”
Schaack initially refused a field sobriety test and portable breath test, Smith said.
After his arrest, Schaack provided two breath samples that registered blood alcohol levels of 0.314 and 0.322 percent, court papers said.
Schaack had DUI warrants from Clallam and Kitsap counties, a suspended driver’s license and an ignition interlock requirement, Smith said.
Schaack told police that he began drinking at about 6 a.m. Wednesday and that he had at least eight prior DUIs.
“When I asked Schaack if he believed his ability to drive was affected by his alcohol or drug use, he stated ‘yes ma’am,’ ” Smith said.
Schaack was convicted of DUIs in 2010, 2015 and 2018, police said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at [email protected] dailynews.com.
