Prison Term Unavoidable for Third DUI
Posted on Dec 20, 2010 4:00pm PST
The Bennington Banner has reported that Chad A. Millette, 39, will serve 6 months in the Marble Valley Correctional Facility beginning on December 27, for his third DUI arrest, followed by three years of probation.
Millette, of Keswick Swamp Road in Sunderland, had two previous DUI convictions, per court documents, in both 1995 and 1996.
Millette pleaded guilty in September 2010 and was sentenced on December 10 in Bennington Superior Court Criminal Division by Judge David Howard.
A police affidavit was presented in court that showed that Millette was found uninjured, in his damaged truck, on Maple Hill Road in October 2009. He claimed that in trying to avoid a crash with a deer, he swerved from the road and into a utility pole.
The affidavit reported Millette's blood alcohol content at .126 percent.
Robert Plunkett, the Deputy State's Attorney, said that Millette tried to lessen his guilt by contending that he "could" just apologize, and, that he was hung over.
Millette claimed that the alcohol that showed up in the test was residue left in his system from his a party the evening before. Video taken at the crash scene depicting Millette's behavior, with Vermont State Police Trooper Timothy Newton, corroborated the claim of his drunkenness and was shown in court.
Plunkett said, "This is an admittedly habitual drunk driver. Here is someone that needs to be locked up for the purpose of public safety."
Frederick Bragdon, the Public Defender for Millette, contended that his client had been free from DUI violations since the 1990s. He also mentioned that Millette had been compliant in checking in with police daily since his not guilty plea in 2009.
Bragdon said that Millette admitted to going to bed drunk the night before the crash, but when he woke up he thought he was fine. He knows now that he wasn't.
In suggesting different ways the court could assure that Millette doesn't drink and drive, Bragdon had asked the court for a two to five year suspended sentence and 100 hours to serve.
Millette wanted probation only, but he accepted and understood the seriousness of the charges against him. He said in his own defense, "This slip is unbelievably painful. To wake up and say, 'Wow, I did it again' is tough."
Millette was recently given a second chance at a job he had lost for a few months. He now has debts from wrecking his truck and a family counting on him for support.
Howard didn't appreciate Millette calling the DUI just a "slip" and obviously never considered that his actions would ever result in another court case. Howard further contended that Millette has a problem that requires addressing.
Howard agreed with Bragdon on the subject of DUI offenders: They aren't apt to consider another court case when they make a split decision to drive drunk.
If you have been arrested and charged for a DUI, DWI, OUI or OWI, click here to contact a DUI attorney in our directory for help with your case.