An East Chicago resident was booked into the Porter County Jail on Thursday on seven different counts of operating while intoxicated, including OWI-with child present and OWI-watercraft, the Porter County Sheriff’s Police said.

According to police, Robert Ortiz, 31, was arrested on those charges as well as on a charge of furnishing alcohol to a minor at 10:32 p.m. by a DNR Conservation Officer.

Conservation Officer Gene Davis told the Chesterton Tribune on Monday that Ortiz was taken into custody on Burns Ditch, near the Portage Marina, after a Conservation Officer was dispatched to the scene to investigate a boater operating a craft without running lights. The Conservation Officer was forced to commandeer another boat in order to make contact with Ortiz, who Davis said showed signs of intoxication but refused to submit to field sobriety, portable breath, and chemical tests.

A young child was aboard the boat at the time, Davis said, as well as a minor, identified as Sebastian Charles Oulrey, 19, of Hammond, who had consumed alcohol provided by Oritz. Oulrey was charged with minor consumption of alcohol and also booked into the Porter County Jail, the PCSP said.

Meanwhile, the DNR Law Enforcement Division said in a statement released on Monday, boat patrols conducted by Conservation Officers on Lake Michigan and its tributaries resulted in a number of boating while intoxicated arrests over the weekend.

“Along with the hot weather comes the increase in people drinking alcoholic beverages,” the statement said. “That becomes a problem when the operator of the boat has been drinking. Just as in driving an automobile under the influence, the public is put at risk. Operating a boat while under the influence not only puts people in that boat at risk but everyone else on the water. Statistics show that a high percentage of boat accidents that have serious bodily injury or death are alcohol related.”

“It will continue to be a high priority for Indiana Conservation Officers to watch for and arrest boat operators who operate under the influence,” the statement concluded.