ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, July 10, 1996 TAG: 9607100072
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK
A Roanoke judge has imposed the rarely used maximum sentence of 12 months in jail on a man convicted of drunken driving.
Most DUI offenders receive a suspended jail sentence and are ordered to complete an alcohol education program. Repeat offenders face a mandatory minimum of two days in jail.
But a jury recommended a 12-month jail sentence for Michael P. McLaughlin after convicting him earlier this year. The sentence was imposed Monday by Circuit Judge Robert P. Doherty.
McLaughlin was arrested in June 1995 after a police officer spotted him speeding and driving erratically on Williamson Road. The officer testified that McLaughlin, 32, was slurring his words, smelled of alcohol and refused to take field sobriety tests.
A judge in General District Court convicted McLaughlin, who had two prior DUI convictions. When McLaughlin appealed to Circuit Court, prosecutors demanded a jury trial.
The commonwealth attorney's office has a policy of asking for jury trials in all such cases, Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Tom Bowers said, "because driving under the influence is a crime that affects the community, and we want the community to come in and determine the fate of that person."
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