Wow. That IS bad. In Texas he would have gotten a PI just like the people in the bar. In fact, I've heard stories where people got found passed out in their car along the side of the road, but if the keys aren't in the ignition, they couldn't do anything.
In Delaware it is bad. If you decide to sleep it off in your car and the keys are ANYWHERE inside the vehicle, you are toast and your DL is gone for a minimum of 6months. The premise being if you have the keys, you have control of the vehicle.