An Iowa City woman was arrested, jailed, and then arrested and jailed again after she was allegedly busted for drunk driving twice in one day.
Police said they stopped 49-year-old Madonna Ballinger after someone reported she was driving her beige 1998 Oldsmobile sedan on the sidewalk and through the grass just after midnight Sunday, May 11, 2014 near the 2100 block of Davis Street in Iowa City.
Police arrived to find Ballinger sitting on a lawn chair in front of the car. The car was parked in a driveway.
“The vehicle’s engine was hot, and keys were in the ignition, turned to auxiliary,” the police report said. Police said Ballinger had a blood-alcohol content of .206 at that time, and that she admitted she had been drinking all day.
Ballinger was arrested and charged with operating under the influence. Police said they found about a gram of marijuana on Ballinger when she was being booked into the Johnson County Jail, and she was additionally charged with possession of a controlled substance.
Jail records show Ballinger was released just before 10 a.m.
Nineteen hours after her first arrest, she was arrested again. Again, she was accused of operating under the influence.
The second time, police said Ballinger pulled her car into the parking lot of a liquor store at about 7:45 p.m. When she did not get out of her car, police approached her.
The police report said Ballinger had slurred speech, smelled of alcohol and could not keep her balance during a field sobriety test. Police say Ballinger had a blood-alcohol level of .177.
After the second arrest, Ballinger was held in the Johnson County Jail in lieu of $10,000 cash-only bond.
