Thursday, May 20, 1999
Repeat DUI cases target of push for new law
BY DAN HORN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
When Victor Cole was stopped on suspicion of drunken driving a few weeks ago, the police officer recognized his name almost immediately.
It was the same man the officer had arrested less than two years earlier on a charge of committing the same offense.
Prosecutors say they since have learned that Mr. Cole's record includes 11 prior arrests on charges of driving under the influence.
“When you have the same officer arresting the same defendant on the same charges over and over, you know the law means nothing to such offenders,” said Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen.
“This defendant should have been behind bars.”
After a recent spate of DUI cases, Mr. Allen and State Sen. Bruce Johnson, R-Columbus, proposed a new law that would make a second DUI felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
Under the current law, repeat offenders such as Mr. Cole face up to 18 months in prison.
“This just once again demonstrates the need for a serious felony-DUI law,” Mr. Allen said.
Mr. Cole, 39, was indicted this week on DUI charges stemming from his arrest May 8.
Mr. Allen said Police Officer Gregory Kaufmann stopped Mr. Cole's car on Columbia Parkway at 10:05 p.m. It was 17 months after he first stopped Mr. Cole in December 1997.
Other than Mr. Cole's 1997 arrest, which resulted in a conviction, prosecutors could not immediately confirm how the other prior arrests were resolved in court.
Mr. Allen said he expects to talk about cases such as Mr. Cole's when he testifies next week before an Ohio House committee considering the proposed DUI law.
Under existing law, a DUI becomes a felony when it is the fourth such charge during a six-year period. The new law would keep that requirement, but dramatically increase the penalties.
After the first felony DUI — punishable by 18 months — the new law would increase the maximum sentence to five years.
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