Police: Alleged attack at strip club leads to 8th OWI charge

WAUSAU, WI — An altercation reported at a local strip club ended in felony drunken driving charges for a River Falls man who has already spent two years in prison on alcohol-related charges.

Kelly Kloss, 55, was arrested early Sunday as he drove away from Showtime Gentlemen's Club, 1709 Merrill Ave., Wausau, according to the police report. Employees at Showtime called police to report that two men attacked an entertainer at the club, Wausau Police Lt. Mike Juedes said Monday. The employees gave officers the license plate number of the pickup truck they believed the men were riding in, Juedes said.

Kloss, who was driving the pickup and was stopped several blocks from the club, failed field sobriety tests and was transported to the Marathon County Jail, according to the report. Preliminary breath test results showed Kloss was driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.177 percent, more than twice the legal limit for driving in Wisconsin, Juedes said.

Kloss is expected to appear today in Marathon County Circuit Court on charges of eighth-offense drunken driving. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and $25,000 in fines if he is convicted.

Kloss is prohibited from driving with a blood alcohol content of more than 0.02 percent because of his previous drunken driving convictions, Juedes said; a check of Kloss's criminal history shows he was last convicted in December 2009 of seventh-offense drunken driving and was sentenced to two years in prison. Kloss was on extended supervision at the time of his arrest Sunday.

Police do not expect to file charges in connection with the alleged attack at Showtime, Juedes said. The passenger in Kloss's pickup, whose name was not released, was not charged.