Staff Report

Shaun Michael Church

SYRACUSE — A Syracuse man with a prior OWI conviction was recently arrested for allegedly driving under the influence while on a moped.

Shaun Michael Church, 47, 1033 N. Mullen St., Syracuse, is charged with operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalent to 0.15 or more, a class A misdemeanor; and operating a vehicle with an ACE of 0.15 or more with a prior conviction, a level 6 felony.

On May 12, a Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to a report of a vehicle accident near Lake Wawasee in Syracuse. Upon arrival, the deputy saw a moped on its side. Its driver, later identified as Church, was initially unresponsive at the scene.

According to court documents, deputies could smell alcohol on Church’s person while they were providing medical aid. Church refused to take a certified chemical test and was taken to Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne.

A man riding on a separate moped at the time of the accident said Church consumed alcohol before the accident.

Deputies obtained a search warrant for Church’s blood and Church tested 0.27% BAC on a certified chemical test.

Church was previously convicted of OWI in Kosciusko County in November 2017.

Church was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on June 26.