Driver accused of trying to smoke pot in front of officer faces felonies

A 40-year-old man who after being pulled over in Saukville is accused of telling an officer he probably should not be driving because he had too much to drink, then trying to smoke a marijuana vaping device in front of the officer, was charged in Ozaukee County Circuit Court with multiple felonies.

Amos J. Ames is charged with fourth-offense drunken driving, second or subsequent offense possession of marijuana and two counts of felony bail jumping.

According to a criminal complaint, a man called police at 7:09 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, to report that he and Ames, who was his roommate at the time, got into a fight and Ames was refusing to leave.

Ames left when the man called police, but returned and pounded on the door before driving away.

An officer spotted Ames’ Toyota and pulled it over as he attempted to merge onto I-43.

Ames confirmed that he and his roommate, who he referred to as his best friend, got into an argument and said he was on his way to his mother’s home in Tomahawk. During the course of the conversation, Ames told the officer that he and his roommate had been drinking and that he probably had too much to drink to be driving, the complaint states.

After telling Ames to turn off his car, the officer heard him say, “I don’t even care if I smoke weed in front of you” before Ames tried to smoke from a vaping device, according to the complaint.

Ames, who said he drank two Fireball shooters within the last hour, agreed to perform field sobriety tests but ended up declining to do several of the tests. Because of his three previous convictions for driving while intoxicated, Ames is prohibited from driving with a blood alcohol level of more than .02, the complaint states.

Ames’ vaping device tested positive for marijuana, according to the complaint.

Ames was convicted of driving while intoxicated in 2005, 2008 and 2018 and of possession of marijuana in 2005.

At the time of his arrest in Saukville, he was free in lieu of bail on a Lincoln County charge of discharging bodily fluids at a public safety worker and an Ozaukee County charge of felony bail jumping.

During a March 2 hearing on the most recent charges, Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Steve Cain set bail for Ames at $7,500 and ordered him not to possess or consume alcohol or illegal drugs and submit to alcohol monitoring if he is released from jail.