Rapid City man faces drunk driving charge

A Rapid City man faces a felony charge of driving under the influence, fifth offense, after he was observed driving erratically on the interstate near Moorcroft.

On August 8 at around 5:15 p.m., a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper was dispatched to a report of drunk driving. The report stated that a vehicle was traveling westbound on I-19 towards Moorcroft and was all over the road.

The trooper observed a vehicle matching the description and caught up to it. According to court reports, he observed the vehicle drift across the center line and then all the way back to touch the fog line.

The trooper reports that he initiated a traffic stop. As he approached the vehicle, the driver was allegedly getting out of it and appeared to be “wobbly on his feet”. The driver was identified as Vincent Newrobe.

Newrobe allegedly admitted he had had “a little bit” to drink. He began to lean on his vehicle for balance.

The trooper reports that Newrobe’s eyes were red and watery and his speech was slow and slurred, and that he could see several beer bottles on the passenger floor board.

When asked to perform a sobriety test, Newrobe allegedly had a hard time with the instructions and said, “Take me to jail because I am drunk”. He was placed under arrest and escorted to Crook County Detention Center; two breath test samples later returned results of .190% and .188% blood alcohol level.

Newrobe has been charged with driving while under the influence, fifth offense, with four prior known convictions in Pennington County, SD, from 2018 and 2019. This charge carries a maximum penalty of seven years’ incarceration, a $10,000 fine or both.

He has also been charged with misdemeanor counts of driving with a cancelled or suspended license and failing to drive within a single lane.