13th DUI is no 'slip,' judge tells defendant Bradley Parker

YOUNGSTOWN

Judge Lou D’Apolito said doing something more than a dozen times is not a “slip,” as a man who was being sentenced for at least his 13th conviction for driving drunk told him Wednesday.

“When you fall on a patch of ice a dozen times, that’s not a slip,” Judge D’Apolito of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court said.

Bradley Parker, 51, of Masury, was sentenced to three years in prison with a chance for judicial release after he has served six months.

He pleaded guilty April 29 to a third-degree felony charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and driving under an OVI license suspension.

He was arrested after he was stopped by a deputy of the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office Jan. 15.

Court records dating back to 1996 show Parker being convicted of OVI at least a dozen times, including three prior felony convictions, one in 2001 and 2009 from Mahoning County and another in 2009 from Trumbull County Common Pleas Court. In Ohio, a sixth OVI within 20 years is a felony.

Judge D’Apolito asked Parker if he ever thought when he got behind the wheel while he was drunk if he would hit someone. Parker said he did, but that still didn’t stop him.

“I just took it for granted this could never happen to me,” Parker said.

Read more of his remarks and the judge's response in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.