Man arrested in Saukville faces cocaine delivery charge

A 50-year-old man arrested in Saukville in July was charged last week in Ozaukee County Circuit Court with being part of a drug distribution operation.

David K. Blahnik of Fredonia faces one count of possession with intent to deliver cocaine, a felony, and a misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia.

Blahnik’s accused accomplice, Danielle M. Wilberg, 37, of Saukville, was charged in July with the same crimes.

Shortly after their arrests, Blahnik was charged with a misdemeanor count of possession of cocaine. Now he faces a felony.

According to a criminal complaint, Blahnik and Wilberg were the subjects of a drug investigation when they were pulled over at 3:37 p.m. July 9 at the corner of East Green Bay Avenue and South Mill Street in Saukville.

Officers noted that Blahnik, who was driving the vehicle, was holding a glass pipe like those used to smoke crack cocaine. Wilberg, the lone passenger in the vehicle who was trying to conceal something as officers approached, was forcibly removed from the car and a pill bottle fell to the ground. The bottle, which had Blahnik’s name on it, contained 2.75 grams of cocaine, the complaint states.

A glass pipe typically used to smoke crack cocaine was found in Wilberg’s purse, according to the complaint.

Before the traffic stop, Blahnik and Wilberg were seen driving to a bar in Saukville, where they stopped briefly before heading to the home of a drug dealer in the 4700 block of North 19th Street in Milwaukee and stopping there for six minutes, the complaint states.

Blahnik and Wilberg stopped at a park in Milwaukee, where authorities believe they used some of the drugs they purchased, then drove back to the Saukville bar. That is where officers were waiting for them, according to the complaint.

Authorities seized the phones of Blahnik and Wilberg, and while later reviewing the contents of the devices officers found messages pertaining to drugs, including ones that indicated they made regular trips to Milwaukee to buy drugs and were pooling money with other people for those drugs, the complaint states.

Some of the text message exchanges on Wilberg’s phone were with a bartender at the Saukville tavern where she and Blahnik stopped twice on the day they were arrested and suggested Wilberg was making drug runs for the bartender. In one message, the bartender wrote, “Well with that said, if you decide to go for a jog today let me know. I might be interested.” That was followed by two phone calls and a text message from Wilberg to the bartender when she and Blahnik arrived back at the bar, according to the complaint.

During an interview with officers, Wilbert said she and Blahnik both use crack cocaine they buy in Milwaukee when they have enough money. On the day of her arrest, Wilberg said, she and Blahnik bought about 3.5 grams of cocaine for $100, although she denied pooling money with others to buy drugs and said they went to the Saukville bar to “give a dude a cigarette,” the complaint states.

Because Wilberg was convicted in 2016 of possession with intent to deliver heroin and possession of marijuana in Sheboygan County, she is charged with a second or subsequent count of possession with intent to deliver cocaine in Ozaukee County and would face enhanced penalties if convicted. 

That offense is punishable by a maximum 7-1/2 years in prison and five years of extended supervision.

Wilberg, who is being held in the county jail in lieu of $2,500 bail, has pleaded not guilty to the charges against her. 

Blahnik is scheduled to make his initial court appearance before Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Steve Cain on Jan. 8.