Sentencing for man who pleaded guilty to DUI injuries will continue on Tuesday
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Sentencing was continued until Tuesday for a Vicksburg man who pleaded guilty July 13 to driving under the influence, causing bodily injury.
Steven L. White, 46, 112 Tower Drive, testified Friday before Circuit Judge M. James Chaney in the first part of a sentencing hearing. Chaney took the testimony under advisement and said he would sentence White at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
An impact statement from the victim’s mother and testimony by White’s family members was also heard, said victim assistance coordinator Brenda Theriot.
White pleaded guilty to the Feb. 25 wreck that injured Heather Smith, 12 1/2 Eager St., Clinton. He testified Friday that he drank five beers in the two hours preceding the wreck. He then drove a 1999 Volkswagen Passat on Nailor Road and turned onto Tower Drive into the path of Smith, who was driving a motorcycle and hit the Passat.
Smith was initially treated at River Region Medical Center and later transferred to University Medical Center with multiple injuries. She has not been able to work at her job as a waitress, Theriot said.
White’s blood alcohol level was measured at .20, Theriot said. The legal limit is .08.
White faces a minimum of a five-year suspended sentence and a maximum of 25 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, said District Attorney Ricky Smith.
Also Tuesday, a sentencing hearing will begin for a Vicksburg couple who pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine, possession of precursor chemicals used in its manufacture and child endangerment.
Charles Dudley White, 27, and Heather White, 27, both of 2409 Cherry St., pleaded guilty to the charges July 13. Their sentencing was originally scheduled for Friday but was continued by Chaney.
Charles and Bethany White were arrested Oct. 21 after a months-long investigation by the Warren County Sheriff’s Department and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics. Officers executing a search warrant at their home found evidence that at least 23 batches of the explosive drug had been manufactured in an area near where the children played, as well as pieces of the drug and various acids and other chemicals used in its making.
Also in Warren County Circuit Court during the week ending Friday:
• Michael Ray Axsom, 37, 307 Pearl Drive, Pearl, pleaded guilty to grand larceny and was sentenced by Chaney to two years in prison plus fines totaling $322.50. Axsom was arrested April 1.
• Demario Cotton, 26, 1542 Week St., Jackson, pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property and was sentenced by Chaney to three years in prison followed by three years of probation, plus fines totaling $1,322.50. Cotton was arrested Nov. 7.
• Joseph Alan Nash, 21, 207 West Drive, was found guilty of violating probation and sentenced by Circuit Judge Isadore Patrick to complete the Mississippi Department of Corrections’ Short Term Alcohol and Drug Program followed by one year in the Intensive Supervision Program (house arrest). Nash was arrested Jan. 20, 2008, for driving under the influence, third-offense.