Ask any police officer about the craziest excuse they’ve heard from someone driving under the influence, and you’re sure to hear some pretty interesting stories. With nearly 4,000 people arrested for drunk driving each day in the U.S., it’s almost surprising that these interesting explanations don’t make the news headlines more often.
One Wisconsin man, 76-year-old John Przybyla, is one of the exceptions. Przybyla was arrested in October 2014 for DUI, according to the Huffington Post and the Consumerist.
The officer first noticed Przybyla’s car because its tail light was broken. The officer ran the car’s license number and found that Przybyla owned the vehicle but had his license revoked because of several DUI charges. Nine DUI charges, to be exact.
According to the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune, the officer then noticed that Przybyla’s car was swerving and driving over the center line. The officer pulled the car over, noticed that Przybyla was the driver and also that his breath smelled of alcohol.
When the officer asked how much alcohol he had been drinking, Przybyla answered that he hadn’t been drinking at all — but that he had eaten a beer-battered fish fry.
The officer asked Przybyla to take a field sobriety test but the man refused to do so, stating this it was “against his religion.” Refusing a field sobriety test also happens to be against the law, but perhaps Przybyla didn’t think about that.
The officer obtained a warrant to administer the test anyway and Przybyla was taken to Moundview Memorial Hospital where his BAC clocked in at .062%, according to court documents. This is below the usual legal limit of .08% but according to Wisconsin’s DUI laws, any driver with more than three drunk driving convictions is subject to a legal BAC limit of .02%.
Przybyla later argued in court that it was definitely the fish fry that did him in, but the jurors weren’t having any of it. He was recently found guilty of driving with a prohibited alcohol concentration, driving while intoxicated (for the 10th time) and driving with a revoked license.
A sentencing date has not yet been given but he faces a maximum of 12.5 years in prison.