A Poplar man accused of operating a motor vehicle with a restricted substance in his blood for the seventh time was bound over for arraignment Wednesday in Douglas County Circuit Court.
Roland Steven Kmecik, 52, faces felony counts of seventh offense operating with restricted controlled substance in blood and possession of methamphetamine and a misdemeanor count of obstructing an officer.
According to the criminal complaint, Deputy Mac Ohm with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office saw Kmecik park diagonally over two parking spots at a Superior business July 2. Ohm could smell the odor of burnt marijuana coming from inside the car.
Kmecik told Ohm he had taken a hit of a “doobie” - a marijuana cigarette - about 10-15 minutes prior to the traffic stop. The Poplar man did not show signs of impairment during initial field sobriety testing. Superior Police Officer Marc Letendre was called in for additional testing and determined that Kmecik had been operating with THC in his blood from marijuana use.
Following his arrest, Kmecik told Ohm that he did not think his driving was impaired by his marijuana use, but said he did feel some effects from it.
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A pill container found in the center console of the car contained a substance that tested positive for methamphetamine. Kmecik denied using methamphetamine, but said the pill container was his.
Online court records show Kmecik’s most recent convictions for operating while intoxicated were a fourth offense in 2002, fifth offense in 2008 and sixth offense in 2010, all out of Douglas County.
A cash bond of $5,000 was set for Kmecik, who remained in Douglas County Jail on Thursday.
His next court appearance was set for Aug. 24.
