Habitual offender receives year and a half incarcerated

A Weems man will spend at least a year and a half incarcerated after learning his fate during Feb. 25 New Kent Circuit Court proceedings.

John Milton Harris III, 50, of the 1600 block of Irvington Road, was sentenced to five years in jail, with all but six months suspended on driving as a habitual offender and also received a one month active sentence on DUI (second offense). In addition to the active time, Harris will also spend an additional year in custody as he will be placed in the detention and diversion programs.

Harris entered guilty pleas on both charges at a separate trial on Dec. 15. There, the defendant confessed that last July 30 a state trooper followed him on Interstate 64 after he was spotted driving erratically. After a traffic stop, the trooper gave the defendant standard sobriety tests, which the defendant failed. A background check revealed Harris had been declared a habitual offender in 1996.