February 20, 2008
Judge throws (most of) the book at career DUI driver
Ohio's sixth-worst DUI offender got hammered (almost) into oblivion yesterday by a (mostly) unsympathetic judge.
A Hamilton man's 19th drunken driving conviction earned him eight years in prison and a lecture about his 30-year record, which ranks him among Ohio's six worst drunken drivers.
"You knew a long time ago that you had a problem with drinking and driving and you've never chosen to do anything," Judge Noah Powers told Stephen W. Wolf in Butler County Common Pleas Court during sentencing Tuesday.
Wolf faced up to 10 years in prison as a result of a hit-and-run crash in Fairfield Township last summer.
He's among four Ohio drivers with 19 drunken-driving convictions; two others are tied for the state record of 20 convictions.
Powers also imposed a lifetime driving suspension. But Wolf has disregarded suspensions since at least 1984.
Now 51, Wolf was first convicted of drunken driving in 1978, just before his 22nd birthday. Ohio law then allowed little jail time for repeat drunken drivers. Laws have toughened since.
Butler County Prosecutor Robin Piper said Wolf's eight-year prison term is proof: "This guy is the example that shows everyone that drinking too much and getting in a car can land you in prison for eight years. That ought to be long enough to sober you up."
Piper said he understands alcoholism is a disease. But, he said: "No disease makes you get in a car and drive. If you want to get plastered, stay home and get plastered on the front porch instead of climbing into a car and risking the lives of innocent people. Stay at home with your 12-pack."
Enquirer readers e-mailed to express outrage about Wolf's driving record and about his lawyer, Robert Qucsai, urging leniency.
Qucsai called his client "a broken man" who suffers from multiple sclerosis, leukemia and alcohol abuse - and needs help.
Wolf apologized for his actions.
But Powers noted that Wolf at first denied driving during the Fairfield Township incident.
"When I look at everything you've done in the past, your record doesn't warrant any further consideration," Powers said.
I'm glad the judge decided to give this defendant a break from the stress of drinking and driving -- Careful, you might spill your drink! -- but I'm always amazed when a recalcitrant, unrepentant repeat offender receives less than the maximum possible sentence.
This guy has been driving on a suspended license since 1984, suffered 19 DUI convictions -- his last one adding a hit-and-run collision to the mix -- and he still gets only eight out of a possible 10 years incarceration?
And this is after the judge told him, "[Y]our record doesn't warrant any further consideration."
Well, I guess it merited a little consideration. About two years' worth.
Posted by Mike Lief at February 20, 2008 07:37 AM
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Comments
I cannot stand to listen to people come to court and beg for another chance, when they continuously screw up. I love it when their attorneys say to the judge, "he has never been given a chance in rehab, or supervised probation."
Getting your life turned around and fixing your problems is your responsibility BEFORE you commit crimes. Once you CHOOSE to put other people's lives, propety and over all well being in peril, there should be consequences.
This guy makes me sick. I lost my best friend to a drunk driver on December 10, 1994. The fact that this particular person never devestated a family is of absolutely no moment to me. I am glad the judge hammered him. He will now have 8 years to attend AA meetings, read books and "work on himself" while at the same, we as a society will be protected.
Posted by: RW at February 20, 2008 06:26 PM