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The Racine County district attorney initially told officers he had been sleeping when they knocked on his door seeking a driver involved in a hit-and-run crash, according to Racine police reports released Wednesday.

Later, the documents say, he refused formal tests to determine blood-alcohol content.

Racine County District Attorney Rich Chiapete was ticketed for operating while intoxicated and hit-and-run in connection with the crash that occurred about 10 p.m. April 4.

He wouldn't discuss specifics Wednesday, other than to say he'd been at a birthday party — he wouldn't say where — and shouldn't have been in a car.

"That whole night was a series of the worst decisions I've made in my life, and I have no excuses for any of them," Chiapete said Wednesday. "I'm completely culpable."

According to the reports released Wednesday:

Racine police officers responded to the corner of Melvin Ave. and N. Main St., north of downtown Racine, and found a 2004 Volkswagen Passat that had struck a traffic signal and a tree near the intersection. No occupants were in the vehicle, which had suffered extensive damage and had deployed its air bag.

The car was registered to Chiapete's wife, Jennifer Chiapete, and witnesses said they had seen the driver walking away to the north. The Chiapetes live about a block away.

An officer was waiting for a supervisor outside the Chiapetes' house when he saw the couple appear from between houses two properties north and walk to their house, according to the police report.

Jennifer Chiapete remained outside. The officer approached and asked if Chiapete had just gone inside and she said yes. The officer said he would be back with a sergeant in five minutes.

When the officer and sergeant returned, Jennifer Chiapete said she was not aware her car had been in an accident and didn't know who was driving it. She went upstairs to get Chiapete. He had changed from jeans and a tan coat to a gray sweatsuit. There was a moderate odor of alcohol on his breath, and his speech was repetitive, but he was semi-cooperative. Officers noticed his knuckles were bleeding and covered with a residue typically left behind by automotive air bag deployment.

Chiapete initially said he was sleeping for the last two hours. The officer reminded him that they had just seen him walk inside the house and Chiapete admitted he had been driving after having a few drinks earlier.

Chiapete was taken to the ambulance bay at a nearby hospital for field sobriety tests, which the officers said gave several clues of intoxication. Chiapete registered 0.159 blood-alcohol level on a portable breath test — about twice the 0.08 level at which the law presumes impairment.

Officers then took Chiapete to the police station for a formal breath test, which Chiapete refused, saying he would prefer a blood test. They returned to the hospital, but Chiapete then said he would refuse a blood test as well, and said, "I'm done. Just take me to jail."

In addition to any penalties for his tickets, Chiapete would likely lose his driver's license for a year for refusing the chemical tests.

Nathan Dineen, a lawyer who specializes in drunken driving defense, said the refusal also carries a 30-day hold on applying for an occupational license, meaning Chiapete could be without even limited driving privileges for work for a month. Refusal also means Chiapete will have to have an ignition interlock device on his vehicle for 12 months.

"Whatever the traffic penalties are, I accept them," Chiapete said Wednesday. He added that he plans to pay his fines for first-offense drunken driving and leaving the scene of a property damage crash as soon as possible.