A Greenville County man was allowed to remain out on bond, after being charged with driving under the influence six times in the Upstate.
Prosecutors said all of the charges against Warren Brooks are considered “first-offense” because none of them have been resolved in court yet and, therefore, there are no DUI convictions.
Brooks received his first DUI charge in August 2010. A breathalyzer test revealed high amounts of alcohol in his system and he posted the bond, which was set at $4,000.
The second charge was on May 19 when the Highway Patrol arrested Brooks and also charged him with having an open container of alcohol in the vehicle. He once again posted bond that was set at more than $2,000.
Not even a week later Brooks was at it again. The Simpsonville Police pulled Brooks over for speeding and could smell the strong odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle. The officer also said Brooks’ eyes were glazed and he was slurring his speech.
Days later, Brooks was charged by Greenville Police with DUI, improper lane change and hit and run of an attended vehicle. Brooks’ driver side mirror hit the passenger side mirror of another car as Brooks was trying to change lanes. Brooks posted a $1,000 bond on the DUI charge and $237 for each of the other offenses.
On June 12, the highway patrol filed a set of new charges against Brooks that included DUI, driving under suspension and hit and run. The details of the arrest were not made available by the highway patrol.
Brooks continued to test his luck and was arrested again on July 2 after a traffic stop by the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office.
“They’re making bond decisions based on the information that they have at the time,” Wilkins said.
Brooks was scheduled to go to trial in June of this year for the August 2010 charge, but, by that time, the solicitor’s office had been made aware of the multiple DUI charges against him.
“We removed the case from the docket so we could better assess the exact situation for this defendant,” Wilkins said. “It wasn’t until we were notified through a general sessions charge, that we realized the gravity of the situation and a number of DUIs in such a short period of time. That’s when we moved to revoke his bond.”
Wilkins said if Brooks is convicted of a first offense DUI charge, any subsequent DUI conviction would carry a stiffer penalty.
There are currently hundreds of unadjudicated DUI cases in the 13th Circuit.
