19 DUI Convictions
William Beal, 65, from Santa Rosa, California has 19 DUI convictions and is now facing a 3 year jail sentence for violating terms of probation for his most recent DUI arrest.
Beal was convicted of his 19th DUI in early December for a DUI that occurred back in July. His extraordinary number of DUI offenses spans the last 44 years. At the time of the hearing, he received a 3 year suspended sentence, 6 months in jail and 5 years probation.
He was allowed to begin serving his 6 months of jail time in January, so he returned home over the vehement objection of the district attorney. His probation prohibited him from consuming alcohol or being in possession of alcoholic beverages in his home.
The Santa Rosa DUI Task Force paid him an unexpected visit on December 18th, where they found three bottles of liquor and a bottle of wine in his home. He was arrested for violating probation.
Beal explained that he had health problems, and his real estate business had been not doing well since the recession. Beal wanted it to be clear that he had remained sober for 8 years prior to this recent DUI.
Beal’s record of convictions started in 1966. He was convicted of 7 DUIs in the 1970s, 5 in the 1980s, 4 during the 1990s and 1 in 2002, prior to this most recent conviction. There were also a total of 6 other arrests that did not end in convictions.
The attorney for Beal, Steven Weiss contends that the Sonoma County DUI task force targeted Beal “with the idea of getting him back in custody and not with the idea of being fair to him.” One has to wonder about fairness here, particularly for anyone who has been the victim of a drunk driving accident.
California is beginning to address the problem of repeat DUI offenders. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 1601 in October, which will go into effect in 2012. Under this bill, a DUI offender’s license can be revoked for 10 years if they have been convicted of more than 3 DUIs in a 10 year period. As it stands now, after 3 DUI’s the offender loses their license for three years.
Statistics show that most people that receive a DUI (75%) never drive drunk again. It is estimated that in California there are approximately 10,000 repeat offender DUIs every year.
If you are facing a DUI charge and have previous DUI convictions, it is important that you speak with an experienced DUI attorney regarding the consequences you may be facing and the steps you can take to help your case (206) 382-9200.