Butler man sentenced for 3rd DUI conviction
A Butler man was sentenced Thursday to one to five years in jail for his third driving under the influence offense.
When police arrested Garrett S. Barnes, 34, on Nov. 9 for overdosing on heroin while driving a car, he had two prior DUI convictions in the past three years. The third one would elevate his offense to a felony.
Judge William Shaffer sentenced Barnes to one to five years in jail, eight hours of community service and a $2,500 fine. Barnes is to be paroled after six months in jail and serve the first six months of his parole on house arrest with electronic monitoring.
Police said they were called around 2:30 p.m. Nov. 9 to the intersection of West Pearl and North Washington streets, where a woman reported hearing the sound of a vehicle horn and then seeing a man, later identified as Barnes, slumped over in the driver's seat of a sport utility vehicle.
She told police she found the front passenger window was down. The woman reached into the SUV, unlocked the door, shifted the vehicle into park and turned off the key in the ignition, police said.
The Butler City Fire Department and Butler Ambulance Service were called and crews administered Narcan to Barnes, which revived him. Police said he admitted to using heroin before overdosing.
Barnes pleaded guilty to the DUI April 1.
In a second case, Barnes was sentenced to six to 23 1/2 months, plus an additional 60 days in jail for retail theft and driving with a suspended license. Barnes must also pay a $500 fine and be on probation for two years. This sentence and the DUI sentence are running simultaneously.
