Program helps treat repeat DUI offenders

Erica D. Johnson

Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2003 | 11:17 a.m.

When Ron Allen hears stories about drunken drivers plowing into people on Las Vegas Valley roadways, he's reminded of what he could have become.

Allen had four DUI convictions in Indiana when he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in Las Vegas a year and a half ago and taken to jail.

Before his arrest, he said, he'd taken to local roadways after drinking on multiple occasions. He just hadn't been caught.

"Many times," he said. "It's what scares me so much."

Allen, a casino cook, said had he not sought help for his drinking problem he could have eventually taken someone else's life, or his own.

He soon realized that it could someday be him on the evening news, he said.

"That could easily be me," he said. "I didn't want to wake up in the morning and be a statistic."

It was that realization that drove Allen to enroll in Clark County's Serious Offender program, which allows repeat DUI offenders to avoid prison sentences by getting treatment.

The three-year program requires six months of house arrest and weekly counseling and alcohol testing for repeat offenders, or offenders with three or more DUI convictions.

A Breath Interlock Device installed in their car prevents participants from drunken driving by locking their ignition if the driver has a blood-alcohol level of 0.02 or higher.

Failed attempts at the interlock device are transmitted via fax to program officials and are punishable by up to two weeks in jail.

Nevada's legal blood alcohol limit is 0.10. A state law lowering the level to 0.08 will take effect Sept. 23.

Prosecutor Gary Booker, who heads the District Attorney's Vehicular Crimes Unit, helped create the county's Serious Offender program. He said targeting repeat offenders such as Allen before they kill someone is key.

"The drunk driving population is one of the most dangerous groups of people," he said. "It's like firing a gun into a crowded theater. Anyone can be your victim."

In Nevada, the third DUI conviction in a seven-year period is automatically classified as a felony, which is punishable by a one- to six-year prison term.

Still, offenders who have already racked up multiple DUI convictions in Nevada or other states make up a majority of cases processed in Clark County, Booker said.

"This program is for the worst of the worst," he said. "The norm for these people is to have five or six DUIs."

Sandy Heverly, executive director of Stop DUI, said the Serious Offender program targets the root of drunken driving -- alcoholism.

Without treatment, she said, DUI offenders would often serve lenient jail terms then be released and continue to drive drunk.

"In three or four months, they were right back out again," she said. "There just wasn't anything to change their behavior."

Since the Serious Offender Program was created in 1999, more than 500 repeat offenders have enrolled in the program.

Of the program's 143 graduates, only 12 have gotten additional DUI convictions since completing the program, program director Laurel Turner said.

Those who are terminated from the program for drinking, picking up additional DUIs or for not complying with the program's conditions are sent to prison to serve their original sentences, she said.

"We send them to prison just as fast as we can get them in to the judge," she said. "We hold people accountable for their actions."

Because offenders who have caused death or substantial bodily harm are ineligible for the program, several defendants charged in recent high-profile DUI cases will still face stiff prison sentences, Booker said.

Michael Krivak, 40, had at least 13 DUI arrests in several different states before he plowed into bicyclist Chris Holt, officials said. Krivak's blood-alcohol level was 0.33.

Holt, 44, who was bicycling with his son, was killed in the collision.

Krivak faces up to 50 years in prison when he is sentenced next month.

George Andrew Robinson, 52, had seven DUI convictions in Utah before he was driving drunk and caused the March collision near Boulder City that killed Joseph Haslem, 49, and his wife, Juanita, 48.

Robinson faces 60 years in prison when he goes before a judge month.

Those offenders won't have the opportunity to avoid prison time because of the serious nature of their crimes, Booker said.

"We made a promise to our victims and to our community," he said. "If you've killed someone, you are ineligible for the program. Period."

While none of the participants in the Serious Offender Program have caused fatal collisions, Turner said she is often amazed at some participants' long history of driving drunk.

"Some of them have already gone to prison for DUI once or twice," she said. "It's just chronic."

One participant, who asked to be called only Elizabeth, said she'd been pulled over by police eight times and had four DUI arrests before enrolling in the program nearly two years ago.

It also was not unusual for her to drive drunk with her 4-year-old granddaughter in the car, she said.

"Absolutely," she said. "Any alcoholic who tells you anything else is lying."

Elizabeth, who owns a local property management business, had participated in Alcoholics Anonymous several times in the past, but had repeatedly relapsed, she said.

She soon realized she needed a more intense level of therapy to help her battle alcoholism. Attending counseling sessions three times a week has helped her deal with the root of her alcohol addiction.

She has been sober since enrolling in the program, she said.

"I knew I had a problem," she said. "I wanted help. I just never thought I could do this on my own."

Allen, who said he has also remained sober since enrolling in the program, said he continues to follow cases such as Krivak's and Robinson's and feels grateful that he didn't end up down a similar path.

He credits the program with keeping him out of prison.

"I got help," he said. "Going back to jail isn't an alternative for me."