CASS COUNTY – An Illinois man was sentenced Thursday morning after violating Michigan’s “super drunk” law.
According to Cass County Prosecutor’s Office, 49-year-old Charles Ryan from Naperville, IL, was sentenced to seven days in jail with 12 months probation, his licenses was suspended for a year, and he was ordered to pay $1200 in court fines and costs.
In October of 2010, Michigan set a new drunk driving law for those whose blood alcohol level is at .17 or higher.
According to the prosecutor’s office, “super drunk” drivers could face 180 days in jail compared to those who have a .08 blood alcohol level or above could be penalized to 93 days in jail.
Police say on May 15, 2011, Ryan was found slumped over the wheel of his Chrysler 300 located on a resident’s lawn off of Maple Island Road. The homeowners called police then took his keys out of his car for safety reasons.
The officers at the scene gave Ryan five sobriety tests and he failed all of them, said the prosecutor’s office. Ryan was transported to a local hospital where it was found that his blood alcohol content was .23, almost three times over the legal limit.
Police say it took the jury a half hour to find Ryan guilty of operating a vehicle with extremely high blood alcohol content.
