It was a very theatrical ending to his latest DWI for Joseph Shaun Goodman. He was chased through downtown Olympia, Washington at close to 100mph, but slowed to let his petrified passenger out at one point. In the end he wrecked his 2000 model Ferrari into a house and two cars.
It reminds me of the scene from the beginning of the Longest Yard with Adam Sandler…except Goodman came out better than Sandler did – he was sentenced to 364 days work-release jail (jail on the weekends). His blood alcohol was >16, double the legal limit.
I got to hand it to his attorneys, they argued what I always do when trying to get my client work-release jail: the Defendant has a job that people depend on him, and his family depends on his support, so says his attorney “It gives them means to support themselves, their families, and in Mr. Goodman’s case, because he’s an employer, employees keep their jobs.”
In Texas, by the time you pick up your 3rd DWI you are looking at a 3rd degree felony, punishable by 2 to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Any subsequent lockups for DWI would make you eligible to be charged as a habitual offender, and could enhance the punishment up to a 2nd degree felony, which is punishable by 2 to 20 years in jail and a $10,000 fine. Get another one…like a 5th, 6th or 7th DWI? You could be enhanced yet again, being sentenced as a 1st degree felony, punishable by 5 to 99 years in jail!
If you want to find out what happens when someone is sentenced on their 7th DWI in Texas, just type it in google and see what comes up. You will see DECADES of jail time handed out to those convicted that are in the position of this Goodman clown.
Goodman availed himself of a provision in the Washington Penal Code requiring 4 DWI’s to be accumulated in a 10 year span for the most recent to be charged as a felony. We used to have recency requirements on our DWI’s in Texas – but not anymore, they tally up here no matter how far apart they occur.