Grandpa who drove drunk with grandkid in car sentenced to prison.

Steven Wunsche appears in 27th Circuit Court Monday via Zoom video conferencing.

Grandpa who drove drunk with grandkid in car sentenced to prison.

By Allison Scarbrough, Editor.

HART — A 55-year-old Warren, Michigan man was sentenced to 15 months to 20 years in prison in Oceana County’s 27th Circuit Court Monday, June 14, for third-offense operating while intoxicated (OWI).

Steven Wayne Wunsche, of 13620 Grey Ave., testified before Judge Robert D. Springstead that he drove drunk with his grandchild in the car and abandoned three other minor children at a park for hours without any supervision or food.

The incident took place at the Jellystone Park in Silver Lake, said Oceana County Prosecutor Joseph Bizon. According to court records, the incident occurred in 2020.

This is Wunsche’s fifth drunk driving conviction, said Bizon. 

Wunsche, who was arrested by the Michigan State Police, initially faced misdemeanors of OWI with an occupant under age 16 and fourth-degree child abuse. 

“This was a monster of a mistake he made,” said his attorney Lowell Friedman.

“This relapse has hit me hard in so many ways,” said Wunsche to Judge Springstead. “My choices can and do affect people around me.” He described having an “overwhelming feeling of failure.”

Wunsche testified that he has done prison time before for drunk driving.

Sentencing guidelines in the case are 0-18 months, said Judge Springstead, and the court rejected a recommendation for no prison. 

He received credit for one day served in jail.

Wunsche, who was free on bond, appeared in court via Zoom video conferencing due to COVID-19. He was ordered to turn himself in to authorities at the Oceana County Jail by 3:30 p.m. Monday.

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