An Iowa City man was accused of an OWI for the third or subsequent time, Joseph Mendez, 32, 1412 Lower Muscatine Rd., was charged Tuesday with OWI, driving while license was barred, and interference with official acts.

According to an Iowa City Police complaint, Mendez was stopped by an officer for driving recklessly. Upon contact, he had bloodshot and watery eyes, slurred speech, and a strong odor of ingested alcohol.

The complaint said He was found to be a barred driver due to being a habitual offender. Mendez is barred from Sept. 23, 2009 and Sept. 22, 2012.

He failed routine field sobriety tests and refused to blow into a breathalyzer on scene. He was taken to the Iowa City Police Department and refused Datamaster testing, the complaint said.

The complaint said Mendez admitted to officers to drinking a few beers before driving. He has two other OWI offenses on June 18 and April 10 earlier this year.

A third or subsequent OWI is considered a class-D felony and driving while licenses is barred is considered an aggravated misdemeanor.

— By Amy Skarnuils