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October 27, 2007
DUI Gets 25 to Life (and rightly so)
by Jack Lee
Stanley Barrymore Newton, 49, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.20 percent and it was his 3rd DUI, only this time he attempted to evade arrest and sped from officers at speeds up to 120 mph as he narrowly avoided a number of potential deadly accidents. Fate prevailed this time for the innocent as numerous drivers maneuvered out of his way. Motorists twice saw him running red lights and saved their own lives by stopping in time, only because police sirens alerted them.
Officers reported they were alerted to Newton as a possible DUI when they observed his Toyota Camry cross over the solid yellow lines near an intersection in San Jose. Newton refused to stop for their red lights and sirens and got onto Interstate 280, (Santa Clara) "where he sped away at up to 120 mph", prosecutors said.
Eventually officers stopped chasing him because of safety concerns but later caught up to him on a side street. Newton pleaded guilty in March to felony reckless driving while evading a peace officer and driving under the influence of alcohol, the later two were misdemeanors.
The reckless charge counted as Newton's third strike. He was sentenced Monday by Judge Andrea Bryan of Santa Clara County Superior Court under California's sentencing law that requires a term of 25 years to life for any convicted felon who has previously committed two serious or violent felonies, or strikes.
"This is exactly what the voters were thinking of, a scary kind of person who can harm anyone at any point," said Kevin Smith, the deputy district attorney who prosecuted Newton.
According to a SF Gate Story, "In 1988, Newton was driving with a 0.12 percent blood-alcohol level when he crashed a Chevrolet Camaro into a light pole on the Capitol Expressway, prosecutors said. A passenger in the front seat, 36-year-old Richard Frable - his then-wife's cousin - was killed. Two back-seat passengers sustained head injuries. Newton's driver's license had been suspended at the time because of a previous DUI conviction. He was convicted of vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence of alcohol and causing injury to multiple victims, as well as a misdemeanor of driving with a suspended license. He was sentenced to one year in county jail and three years' probation. But after he violated his probation in part by not attending mandatory alcohol awareness classes, Newton was sentenced to three years in prison."
"He was on the road, drunk again, and he was more drunk than the last time," said Assistant District Attorney David Tomkins. "It's easy to see what a danger and menace this individual was, and the court felt the same way."
Posted by Post Scripts at October 27, 2007 05:56 PM
Comments
Jack -
This is the law that Jim Nielsen and the Democrats are trying to gut.
This is a clear case where three strikes is needed. Another 5year sentence and a slap on the wrist and this guy would kill again.
This is where the line between criminal behavior and someone being an alcoholic with a problem gets blurred.
Posted by: Aaron Park at October 28, 2007 05:10 PM
Couldn't agree more. In general the three strikes law is a good thing. Everyone's entitled to a mistake now and then but to be a habitual screw up means you need to be kept away from those of us who are trying to live a decent life. The trouble comes when some sob story of a kid who just didn't learn the first two times gets spun into a media frenzy by our Liberal owned news corps.
Posted by: Jordan Frazer at October 29, 2007 09:06 PM