FALMOUTH — A Sandwich man is accused of driving drunk for the ninth time.Here's the best part, though:
John Bazilio, 53, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment yesterday in Falmouth District Court. He was held without bail in the Barnstable County Correctional Facility pending a dangerousness hearing Monday.
According to court records, Bazilio’s license was revoked for life in 2004 after his seventh drunken-driving offenseIt took seven OUI convictions before they revoked his license for life. And even barring that, he still commited an eighth offense at some point between 2004 and this recent incident. Exactly how many more chances was Bazilio going to be given? Obviously they're waiting for him to kill someone before they take serious measures; there's no mention of significant jail time for the eighth conviction, although it is possible.
But what can they do to prevent someone like Bazilio from driving? His license was revoked, permanently; yet he was behind the wheel of an automobile. After going through the system for OUI EIGHT PREVIOUS TIMES, he still slid behind the wheel of a car while inebriated without a license. How can we stop someone like this? Gee, with vigorous enforcement of existing laws, to whit:
That's for the fifth offense, mind you, not eighth. He should have lost his license for life and done five years of felony time for his fifth offense - yet he received his eighth offense sometime between 2004 and this recent arrest - meaning that he didn't serve a five year term. Gee, it's like MA is soft on criminals or something?Fifth Offense Penalty (5th) - MASSACHUSETTS DRUNK DRIVING DUI DWI OUI LAW
•Jail: Not less than 2 1/2 years (24 mos. minimum mandatory), not more than 5 years (felony status)
•Fine $2,000-$50,000
•License suspended for life, no possibility of hardshipMandatory 2 year jail term if convicted of a fifth offense OUI.
It's a good thing Bazilio didn't commit a real crime, like have a .22LR casing stuck in his boot...
That is all.
4 comments:
And even barring that, he still commited an eighth offense at some point between 2004 and this recent incident.
Always keep the unspoken qualifier in mind: "known." Habitual drunk drivers also have a habit of giving fake names, after which they get sentenced as a first offense instead of a sixth or seventh.
But what can they do to prevent someone like Bazilio from driving?
Nothing. I entirely stopped taking DUI/OUI/DWI type laws seriously after a case near where I used to live in Ohio. Some guy racked up MORE THAN FORTY DUI convictions. Known convictions, that is. They don't know how many convictions he actually has, because of his habit of giving fake names to the cops. He even did time -- serious time, like four or five years -- for hitting somebody while driving drunk. When he got out, he went right back to drinking and driving.
The courts really don't take serious notice of DUI until somebody gets hurt. Or killed.
True. Should have said "...he was caught at some point..."
Is he related to some Democratic politician or something? I hear that you have to shoot up a school before they throw you in jail then.
"How Many Strikes?" Here in Massachusetts it seems the answer to that question would be a Bazilion!
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