Man with 17 DUI convictions is sentenced
Man with 17 DUI convictions is sentenced is sentenced in Massachusetts.
The news had a story about a man with 17 DUI convictions is sentenced. It turns out that there were two such cases. In the opinion of this Orange County DUI Lawyer, multiple DUI cases usually are a deep sign of physical or neurological problems that often go unaddressed by the court system.
Orange County Jail is not the place you want to be, trust me., people with multiple DUI cases are helped by intensive rehab, sobriety, and treatment for physical or mental issues, not helped by jail, as evidenced by the many who go to jail and reoffend again.
As a case in point, a man in Kansas this week was sentenced for his seventeenth DUI case.
A different man who had seventeen DUI cases in Peabody, Massachusetts, and had done prior prison time, was sentenced in 2011 to no jail time for his seventeenth conviction. In that case, defendant Charles Stefanilo Jr.’s driver’s license had already been revoked for life as a result of his long history of drinking and driving. But he got behind the wheel over Labor Day weekend in 2011, and probation officials wanted a judge to revoke his probation as a result.
“That means I would be doing eight years in jail,” Stefanilo, 55, complained to Judge Timothy Feeley. “It’s crazy.”
(See http://www.salemnews.com/news/local_news/no-jail-time-for-man-with-duis/article_a452aff5-8b4c-5817-8da0-8c8cb1ba34ea.html).
Man with 17 DUI convictions is sentenced in North Carolina
In a completely separate case, someone with seventeen DUI cases in North Carolina, was previously sentenced to seven years in State Prison in that state.
In the case in Kansas, I mentioned above, this particular man was sentenced to one year in jail for his seventeenth conviction.
Stephen Gast Jr. pleaded guilty after his arrest last month, when law enforcement officers were called about a drunken driver. They found Gast in his vehicle, swerving in the road, according to the prosecutor in the case.
The conviction was Gast’s 17th DUI since 1980, with most of the offenses occurring in Leavenworth County, where Gast has been a lifelong resident.
Gast was sentenced to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine, the maximum punishments in Kansas for a person after four or more DUI convictions.
The sentence allows Gast to leave jail on work release after 48 hours in custody if he can verify employment.(Source: http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article28349164.html)
The high rate of Orange County DUI cases have triggered the specifically the Newport/Costa Mesa area, is the world capital of rehab programs. Rehab homes in Orange County can offer treatment ahead of time ,which can help avoid jail or prison sentences, which doesn’t help public safety, or solve the underlying problems.
Contact us if you have questions about multiple offense DUIs. We have experience in this area and can help you.