Fourth DUI garners 16-month jail sentence in NK court
A Newport News man will serve the maximum sentence recommended by state guidelines stemming from a Sept. 30 trial.
Darren Wright Snyder, 42, of the 500 block of Dartmoor Drive, Apt. 201, Newport News, received a 16-month jail sentence on one count of driving under the influence (fourth offense) during New Kent Circuit Court proceedings Monday morning
During a Sept. 30 trial, Snyder confessed that he was intoxicated when a state trooper pulled over his vehicle on Interstate 64 on April 6 after seeing the vehicle on fire. Upon investigation, a breathalyzer test revealed Snyder’s alcohol level to be nearly twice the legal limit. The defendant said he had just left a cookout at a friend’s house in Charles City when everything occurred.
During sentencing, an infuriated Judge Thomas B. Hoover continued to blast the defendant for his past actions and possible future behavior involving alcohol.
“Am I going to read somewhere that after you’re released that you have picked up a possible fifth DUI?” questioned Hoover after an inquiry of work release emerged. “How do I know this won’t happen again?”
“I learned my lesson,” responded the defendant. “If it does, you can put me in for life.”
That response earned Snyder a stare that shot right through the defendant.
“I don’t think you understand,” replied the judge. “Why didn’t you learn after the third time?
“Mr. Snyder, there was a drunk driver in York county who thought he was okay to drive after a few drinks. That man crossed over a double-line on Route 17 and struck a vehicle. The man driving the other vehicle was the father of four, going to a second job to support his family, and now he’s dead,” the judge said, recalling the tragic incident.
“How do I know that won’t be you behind the wheel drunk?” concluded Hoover.
Snyder received one year, four months to serve out of a possible five-year sentence, with the other time suspended. His driver’s license is also revoked permanently.
In other circuit court proceedings:
–Daniel Nathan Alexander, 23, of the 8600 block of Warrior Road, Quinton, had a charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon dropped. According to Commonwealth’s Attorney Linwood Gregory, nobody in the house was available to testify that the defendant possessed the weapon on Feb. 20.
–Emily Ann Midgett, 32, of the 1700 block of Arrowhead Road, Quinton, accepted a plea deal to two amended charges of simple possession. Four counts of conspiracy to distribute and two counts of possession of a controlled substance were dropped. Entering an Alford Plea, Midgett stipulated there was enough evidence to convict her of allegedly possessing illegal drugs on March 8 and April 10. Under the plea agreement, she will serve six months of a five-year sentence on the first count and pay $640 in restitution. All five years on the second count were suspended.
–Jeremo Michel Pandrea, (address unlisted), received a suspended five-year sentence on one count of prescription fraud after failing to comply with first offender status. Pandrea, however, was ordered to complete a mental health evaluation and program.