Posted on 06/08/2016 7:42:08 AM PDT by Wolfie
Montgomery County Judge Gives Man Life Sentence After Ninth DWI Conviction
A Montgomery County judge has sentenced a man to life in prison after he was found guilty of drinking and driving a ninth time.
Donald Middleton was arrested May 30, 2015 on a DWI charge. It was his ninth since 1980.
Authorities say Middleton was trying to turn at a stop sign but didn't stay in his lane and struck another vehicle nearly head-on. After the wreck, he ran to a nearby convenience store and begged the clerk to hide him.
"He tried to flee, get away. He called some friends to come pick him up, and you could see that he was clearly intoxicated in the surveillance video at the gas station," Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Justin Fowles said.
Fowles tells us Middleton pled guilty last month, on the day he was set to begin his trial. After three days of punishment testimony, Judge Kathleen Hamilton sentenced him to life in prison.
The 16-year old he hit was Montgomery County Precinct Four Constable Rowdy Haden's son.
"As a father, you can imagine the outrage I had knowing this person should be in prison when they're out here traveling on our roads, running into a child and luckily not killing this child," Constable Haden says.
Court documents show Middleton has been sentenced to prison for DWI before.
"He's been to the penitentiary four separate times before he committed this last one. The ninth DWI that we sought life," Fowles says.
Fowles says they pushed for the maximum punishment and were pleased with the life sentence.
"To me there was no question that we needed to do everything that we could to ensure he wouldn't be on the roads driving with our friends, our families, our kids on the road putting everyone at risk," he said.
"For a habitual offender like this, he's proven that he cannot be rehabilitated. And he should spend the rest of his life in prison," Hayden adds.
Perhaps the most unbelievable part of this is that after eight DWI convictions, Middleton still had a valid driver's license when he was arrested for number nine.
Sometimes you need to lock people up.
Perhaps the most unbelievable part of this is that after eight DWI convictions, Middleton still had a valid driver’s license when he was arrested for number nine.
...
Forget it Jake, it’s Maryland.
Montgomery County Texas I take it.
9 times? wth?
‘The 16-year old he hit was Montgomery County Precinct Four Constable Rowdy Haden’s son.’
Wonder if this was the reason for the life sentence and it took nine times to finally get him off the road.
I was wondering if the guy was from a rich family or something.
Begs the question. "How many times did he NOT get caught?"
Sorry - this is 'Minority Report' territory.
DUI laws are a joke as demonstrated by the massive number of repeat offenders.
Bring in whipping and see how fast DUIs stop.
THAT was my first question. WTF?
Many many years ago, I worked with a hillbilly/redneck at a mechanics shop that had his driver's licenses PERMANENTLY revoked in the state of Indiana. Why? Speeding and recklace driving (7 times in 5 years). He drove a moped to work. Funny thing is, he also raced dirt track stock cars on the weekends. He would occassionally drive his race cars into the shop to work on them. It was legal for him to race but he had to get a ride for service calls and to the track. He never had a DWI. He was just not the brightest knife in the shed. His elevator didn't go to all the floors and the lights were on but nobody was home.
Even he admitted that he didn't deserve to have a driver's license.
I'd like to lock up the person who wrote the article.
Out of the blue comes the information that a 16 year old was hit. When? During the head-on collusion? Was he killed, hurt?
Don't they still teach 'who, what, where, when, and why' in journalism school?
True, but this jerk only got locked up after he hit the Constable's son. He was turned loose eight times before.
So drunk drivers get to kill one person before they face consequences?
Slapping addicts on the wrist isn’t going to change behavior. As this guy proves.
"should"
“Court documents show Middleton has been sentenced to prison for DWI before.”
Seems like a psych ward would be more appropriate for this guy.
Court documents show Middleton has been sentenced to prison for DWI before.
"He's been to the penitentiary four separate times before he committed this last one. The ninth DWI that we sought life," Fowles says.
"Consequences"?
LOL, can your misdirection be any more brazen?
The point is that life in prison is not justified. They need to find another solution. This is an inappropriate sentence and will be overturned on eighth amendment grounds.
Exactly!
The father of the kid hit is a constable. Daddy has some pull with the power people.
If it had been an average person hit the drunk would have gotten a couple of years at most.
Meanwhile a Stanford University athlete rapes a passed out drunk girl and gets six months.
If you don’t have friends with pull or you have a low melanin count, the full weight of the law will bury you in short order.
Can’t fix stupid - sometimes it needs to locked away.
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