Previous 10 DUI convictions make latest one a felony

The man will receive prison time and treatment for alcoholism.

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — A Masury man with almost a dozen driving under the influence of alcohol convictions will be behind bars for one year.

Bradley Parker, 45, of Elm Street Southeast, Masury, pleaded guilty to felony DUI before Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court earlier this week. He will be sent to prison for one year and have his license suspended for four years.

Parker also will pay a fine of $1,350 and undergo drug and alcohol treatment while incarcerated.

The agreement is a prosecutor’s recommendation. The judge can accept or reject it.

J. Michael Thompson, an assistant county prosecutor, said it is difficult to pinpoint exactly how many DUI convictions Parker has because of closely dated entries from other jurisdictions, but he said Parker has at least 10 previous convictions an maybe as many as 11.

The most recent conviction in Judge Krichbaum’s court is Parker’s first felony DUI conviction.

Thompson said a provision in Ohio law makes the sixth DUI received in a 20-year period a felony, but somehow Parker managed not to receive any felony-level charges in the past.

“It seems like the last two [convictions] should have been felonies. He managed to skate without a felony conviction. We are not sure what jurisdiction those were in,” said Thompson.

With the most recent conviction, Parker could have gotten as little as 60 days in the county jail or as much as 30 months in prison.