MONROE - A Brodhead man with seven drunk driving convictions on his record avoided prison time for his most recent offense after the involved attorneys, his daughter and a coworker spoke highly of him to the judge during a hearing Thursday, April 4, in Green County Circuit Court.
Roger Earl Pickett, 52, is ordered to spend one year in the county jail and five and a half years on extended supervision. He is also fined $1,300 and owes an additional $1,000 in court costs.
Judge James Beer imposed and stayed a prison sentence of two and a half years, meaning Pickett won't go to prison unless he violates a condition of his sentence.
Pickett's history of drunk driving dates back 30 years. He is convicted of driving while intoxicated in 1983, 1984, 1988 and twice in 1989, and in 2007 and 2012. Per state law, the offenses prior to 1989 didn't count in his most recent charge.
His most recent offense occurred midday on Feb. 12, 2012. Court records indicate he had a blood-alcohol level of more than 0.2 percent when he drove a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am from the Dollar General in Brodhead to his home nearby.
"Clearly he still has alcohol issues," Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Kohl said. "Alcohol's been an issue since he was 13."
But Kohl and Pickett's defense attorney, Steven Cohen, agreed he doesn't belong in prison.
"We have somebody who's productive, holds a steady job," Kohl said. As long as a probation agent stays "on his butt every day," he added, Pickett will succeed without incarceration.
Cohen concurred and said the case "cries out" for probation. Prison is justified as a last resort after everything else has been tried, but in Picket's case, "he's never had a lengthy sentence, or probation."
"Probation will be a motivator," Cohen said. "He will know that he has to watch his step because somebody is watching over his shoulder. I think he can do it."
Pickett's mother is getting older and "could probably use him around," Cohen added.
Kohl and Cohen presented evidence that despite his drinking Pickett works hard, helps out his mother and managed to raise his 31-year-old daughter, Stephanie, on his own. She and several others came to the hearing to support him.
"He has been my only parent my whole life," she told the judge. "He's the best father that I could ever ask for."
Dale Isely, a coworker with Pickett at a local trucking company, told the judge, "He's one of the best people I've ever met in my life."
When the judge gave Pickett a chance to speak, he kept his statement brief, pointing to his track record as a hard worker.
"I'm not a criminal," he said.
Pickett will have work release while in jail, but the judge recommended he not be allowed to stay out on an ankle-bracelet for electronic monitoring. Pickett is also ordered to continue counseling and not drink or go into taverns or liquor stores. His driver's license is revoked three years.
Roger Earl Pickett, 52, is ordered to spend one year in the county jail and five and a half years on extended supervision. He is also fined $1,300 and owes an additional $1,000 in court costs.
Judge James Beer imposed and stayed a prison sentence of two and a half years, meaning Pickett won't go to prison unless he violates a condition of his sentence.
Pickett's history of drunk driving dates back 30 years. He is convicted of driving while intoxicated in 1983, 1984, 1988 and twice in 1989, and in 2007 and 2012. Per state law, the offenses prior to 1989 didn't count in his most recent charge.
His most recent offense occurred midday on Feb. 12, 2012. Court records indicate he had a blood-alcohol level of more than 0.2 percent when he drove a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am from the Dollar General in Brodhead to his home nearby.
"Clearly he still has alcohol issues," Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Kohl said. "Alcohol's been an issue since he was 13."
But Kohl and Pickett's defense attorney, Steven Cohen, agreed he doesn't belong in prison.
"We have somebody who's productive, holds a steady job," Kohl said. As long as a probation agent stays "on his butt every day," he added, Pickett will succeed without incarceration.
Cohen concurred and said the case "cries out" for probation. Prison is justified as a last resort after everything else has been tried, but in Picket's case, "he's never had a lengthy sentence, or probation."
"Probation will be a motivator," Cohen said. "He will know that he has to watch his step because somebody is watching over his shoulder. I think he can do it."
Pickett's mother is getting older and "could probably use him around," Cohen added.
Kohl and Cohen presented evidence that despite his drinking Pickett works hard, helps out his mother and managed to raise his 31-year-old daughter, Stephanie, on his own. She and several others came to the hearing to support him.
"He has been my only parent my whole life," she told the judge. "He's the best father that I could ever ask for."
Dale Isely, a coworker with Pickett at a local trucking company, told the judge, "He's one of the best people I've ever met in my life."
When the judge gave Pickett a chance to speak, he kept his statement brief, pointing to his track record as a hard worker.
"I'm not a criminal," he said.
Pickett will have work release while in jail, but the judge recommended he not be allowed to stay out on an ankle-bracelet for electronic monitoring. Pickett is also ordered to continue counseling and not drink or go into taverns or liquor stores. His driver's license is revoked three years.