Savannah Woman Arrested for 5th DUI, Going to Jail
A woman in the Savannah, Georgia area was arrested for her 5th DUI charge on Christmas Eve, and has now been sentenced to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine, the maximum DUI fine Georgia state law allows.
Sheila Faye Conley, 55, pleaded guilty to her 5th DUI, as well as making false statements to Georgia state trooper Israel Borup. She allegedly told the state trooper that she had not consumed any alcohol when she was pulled over.
On December 24th, around 7:30 PM, Conley was pulled over for driving erratically and nearly going off the road. She told Borup that she had just been looking for something in her purse, but Borup reported that he smelled alcohol in the car. Conley repeatedly denied that she had been drinking, but finally admitted to consuming two wine coolers about two hours prior to being pulled over. She refused both a breathalyzer and a blood test, and was charged with her 5th DUI.
In exchange for the guilty pleas, Conley was sentenced to 5 years in jail, suspended to 1 year with the rest served on probation. In addition, she consented to the revocation of a previous DUI sentence, served in 2001, which leaves her on probation until July 19th.
Her previous DUI case was much more serious – in 2000, Conley was sentenced to 10 years in prison because her DUI caused the deaths of two people in a car accident. That incident resulted in her 4th DUI charge, and the third in five years. She entered an open-ended guilty plea on May 8th, 2001, to both charges of vehicular homicide. During that 4th DUI stop, she had initially been pulled over for driving erratically, but sped away from police officers and ended up striking another vehicle, killing the driver and his wife. She served 5 years in prison and 10 on probation.
As a condition of her current probation, Conley will not drive at all. She promised “not to violate the criminal laws of any governmental unit” and “to avoid injurious and vicious habits — especially alcoholic intoxication and narcotics and other dangerous drugs unless prescribed lawfully.”
DUI Charges in South Carolina
South Carolina has strict laws governing DUI charges. Law enforcement officers are always on the look-out for erratic driving, which might lead to a DUI arrest. However, even if you have been charged with DUI, you still have rights.
The Strom Law Firm Can Help with DUI Defense.
If you have been charged with DUI in South Carolina or Georgia, the attorneys at the Strom Law Firm can help. We understand the complexity of DUI legislation and the serious ramifications that can occur in the event of a DUI conviction. We offer a free, confidential consultation to discuss your DUI charges, so contact us today for help. 803.252.4800