MONROE - A Shullsburg man who admits to a lifelong struggle with alcoholism was sentenced Friday, July 13, to one and a half years in prison on his fifth offense of driving while intoxicated.
Timothy P. Gordon, 32, was arrested driving with a blood-alcohol concentration of .236 percent last August, at the end of a night when he'd been out celebrating getting full custody of his 9-year-old son.
"He finally got total custody of his child and he was out celebrating," defense attorney Jack Priester said. Gordon was on his way to a friend's house in Monroe to avoid driving drunk back to Shullsburg, Priester added, when he was stopped for crossing the center line.
Both Priester and prosecutor Jeffrey Kohl argued that Gordon deserved another chance with time in the county jail, not prison. Gordon is employed and has a son who depends on him and people who support him, they argued.
"I don't think it's time to give up," Kohl said. "Jail would give him a chance to continue employment."
Priester presented Judge James Beer with three letters of support for Gordon, including one from the plant manager at the cheese factory where he works and is "highly regarded."
"There's a lot more to Tim than being a drunken bum," Priester said.
According to a pre-sentence investigation presented in court, Gordon had his first drink at age 10, and his father is a recovering alcoholic. Gordon was arrested on his first DWI when he was 19, on his second when he was 24, third at 25, fourth at 27 and fifth at 31.
"That's nothing to be proud of," Priester said. "However, I think when you balance that compared to the good things he's got going for him ... a prison sentence here is not necessary to protect the public."
Judge Beer argued that such an aggravated offense, a Class H felony, should not be treated lightly. What if, he asked, a child had been killed on the road as the result of Gordon's choice to drive after drinking?
"And this is the fifth offense," he said to Gordon. "Don't you wake up?"
Beer sentenced Gordon to one and a half years in prison and three years of extended supervision, ordered him to continue treatment for alcohol abuse, revoked his license for three years and fined him $1,000.
When given a chance to speak, Gordon said, "I am a single father. I do have a good job." The 11 months since his arrest, during which time he said he's maintained sobriety, "have been the hardest 11 months of my life.
"My alcoholism has cost me so much of my life," he said.
Gordon hung his head and covered his face when his sentence was read, and a woman who came with him to the hearing wiped tears from her eyes and blotted her nose with a wad of tissue.
Timothy P. Gordon, 32, was arrested driving with a blood-alcohol concentration of .236 percent last August, at the end of a night when he'd been out celebrating getting full custody of his 9-year-old son.
"He finally got total custody of his child and he was out celebrating," defense attorney Jack Priester said. Gordon was on his way to a friend's house in Monroe to avoid driving drunk back to Shullsburg, Priester added, when he was stopped for crossing the center line.
Both Priester and prosecutor Jeffrey Kohl argued that Gordon deserved another chance with time in the county jail, not prison. Gordon is employed and has a son who depends on him and people who support him, they argued.
"I don't think it's time to give up," Kohl said. "Jail would give him a chance to continue employment."
Priester presented Judge James Beer with three letters of support for Gordon, including one from the plant manager at the cheese factory where he works and is "highly regarded."
"There's a lot more to Tim than being a drunken bum," Priester said.
According to a pre-sentence investigation presented in court, Gordon had his first drink at age 10, and his father is a recovering alcoholic. Gordon was arrested on his first DWI when he was 19, on his second when he was 24, third at 25, fourth at 27 and fifth at 31.
"That's nothing to be proud of," Priester said. "However, I think when you balance that compared to the good things he's got going for him ... a prison sentence here is not necessary to protect the public."
Judge Beer argued that such an aggravated offense, a Class H felony, should not be treated lightly. What if, he asked, a child had been killed on the road as the result of Gordon's choice to drive after drinking?
"And this is the fifth offense," he said to Gordon. "Don't you wake up?"
Beer sentenced Gordon to one and a half years in prison and three years of extended supervision, ordered him to continue treatment for alcohol abuse, revoked his license for three years and fined him $1,000.
When given a chance to speak, Gordon said, "I am a single father. I do have a good job." The 11 months since his arrest, during which time he said he's maintained sobriety, "have been the hardest 11 months of my life.
"My alcoholism has cost me so much of my life," he said.
Gordon hung his head and covered his face when his sentence was read, and a woman who came with him to the hearing wiped tears from her eyes and blotted her nose with a wad of tissue.