A Michigan City man is facing drunk driving charges after being stopped for traveling at a high rate of speed.

 

Joseph Swanson, Jr., 50, has been charged with Operating a Vehicle while Intoxicated, and what started as a misdemeanor offense was upgraded to a Level 6 felony due to a prior OWI conviction in Porter County in 2017.

 

According to La Porte County Police, he clocked in at 80 miles per hour on Indiana 2 in the Rolling Prairie area early on March 20th, exhibiting symptoms of impairment such as heavily slurred speech. There were also open alcoholic beverage containers in the vehicle at the time of the incident.

 

He was taken into custody with an alleged blood alcohol level of .104 percent.