Repeat DWI offender charged for the ninth time
The Jefferson City Police Department arrested James Arnold on Tuesday for driving while intoxicated.
According to police, Arnold has eight previous convictions for driving while intoxicated. If convicted, this would be his ninth time.
Around 3:10 in the afternoon, a Jefferson City police officer noticed plates on Arnold’s truck were car plates rather than truck plates. A quick check of the license plate showed the plates belonged to a S.U.V.
That’s when police pulled Arnold over and smelled ‘an “overwhelming” smell of beer. According to court documents ABC 17 News got, Arnold’s eyes were glassy, bloodshot and slurring words.
Arnold admitted to police he was driving with no license because it was revoked. Police did a search through Arnold’s truck and found open beer in the passenger side of the truck and one thrown in the back passenger floorboard.
Arnold was taken to the Police Department to perform the rest of the field sobriety tests.
According to the court documents Arnold showed convictions for driving while intoxicated or excessive blood alcohol content dating back to the late 1980’s. Five of those convictions were for driving while suspended or revoked.
DWI Revisions
Arnold has been charged with a class B felony. If convicted, the maximum penalty Arnold could face anywhere from five to 15 years in imprisonment.
In the beginning of 2017, revisions to Missouri criminal codes took effect. Increasing punishments for DWI offenders was one of the revisions. If a person caused a death in a drunken driving crash to increase their punishment up to 10 years in prison and classify the habitual DWI offender as a dangerous felon- meaning they must serve 85 percent of their sentence.
Toby’s Law
Currently, both the Missouri Senate and House have filed SB 142 and HB 107, which would require any person who has pleaded guilty to or been found guilty of driving while intoxicated to complete a victim impact program.
