Rhinelander man faces charges in truck theft 
by Karyn Eckert
The Star News
Dcember 24, 2009 —  A Rhinelander man has been charged with three felonies after a Taylor County Sheriff’s Department deputy found him driving a pick-up truck reported stolen.
Michael A. Ruesch, 32, was charged with operating a vehicle without owner’s consent, operating while intoxicated–6th and operating with a prohibited alcohol concentration–6th, all felonies. He is also facing a misdemeanor count of operating after revocation.
According to the criminal complaint filed December 18 in Taylor County Circuit Court, a deputy was notifed of a reported stolen 1999 Ford F-150 pick-up truck with Ruesch as a possible suspect. It was also reported that there was a firearm in the vehicle.
The deputy responded to the Mink Drive address where Ruesch was reported to be and parked near the entrance to the driveway. As he walked up the driveway, he heard an engine roar and tires spinning gravel to the south on Mink Drive. The officer stepped behind a tree to observe the vehicle which came to a stop behind the squad. He could see that it matched the description of the stolen truck.
The deputy drew his sidearm because of the report of the firearm. After ordering the man to show his hands, turn off the truck and place them on the steering wheel, he asked the driver to identify himself and tell him who owned the truck. The driver said he was Mike Ruesch and said it was his wife’s. When asked again, Ruesch said he didn’t know. The deputy smelled a strong odor of intoxicants and noted his speech was slurred and eyes were bloodshot and watery.
After being handcuffed, the deputy stated Ruesch began to resist and became verbally abusive, refusing to get into the back of the squad. The officer told him he could be Tased if he continued to resist. He then stepped into the squad.
A rifle was found cased and unloaded in the back seat of the truck with a box of ammunition. There was also an open container of beer in the cup holder next to the driver’s seat.
During transport, the deputy stated Ruesch continued “his verbal onslaught, threatening me repeatedly.” Ruesch also kicked at the partition between the front and back seat. At the jail, Ruesch pushed into the deputy as he stepped out of the squad and the deputy stated he held him against a chain link fence until jail staff came out to assist him.
Ruesch refused to submit to field sobriety testing or an evidentiary test of his blood. A lab technician was brought in for a forced blood draw. Two deputies and two jailers were used to hold him for the blood draw. The lab results showed a blood alcohol level of .217 percent.
On the following morning the owner of the truck and a witness were interviewed. The owner said they were at a residence in the Town of Goodrich. Around 3 a.m. he walked outside and saw his truck was gone. He said he had left the keys in the ignition and walked back thinking someone was playing a joke on him, but no one knew anything about it.
The owner said a man had been asking people for a ride home and everyone was still at the party except him. The owner went to Stetsonville looking for the truck and called to report it stolen when they could not find it.
The witness said Ruesch showed him where he had land on a plat book. The property was on Mink Drive.
If convicted, Ruesch could face a maximum sentence of 3.5 years in prison for operating a vehicle without the owner’s consent, six years on each charge of OWI and operating with a prohibited alcohol concentration, and one year for the misdemeanor violation. He was released from jail on a $500 cash bond and $1,000 signature bond.

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