A High Ridge man with at least two prior driving while intoxicated convictions allegedly registered a blood-alcohol content percentage more than four times the legal limit following an accident in High Ridge, according to court documents.
Richard Robert Reichert Jr., 45, has been charged with DWI as a persistent offender, a class E felony. However, the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has requested the charge be considered a class D felony, punishable by up to seven years in prison, due to his prior convictions, court records show.
Reichert was convicted on DWI charges in 1999 and 2002 in St. Louis County, and he was convicted on charges of possession of a controlled substance in 2002 and 2003 in St. Louis County, court documents said.
Reichert was arrested Dec. 19, and as of Dec. 23, he was being held without bond at the Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro, according to court records.
According to the probable-cause statement filed in the case, the Missouri State Highway Patrol responded to an accident at just after noon Dec. 19 near the intersection of Hwy. 30 and Hwy. PP. Reichert was driving a 2022 Chevrolet Silverado west on Hwy. 30 when he allegedly went through a red light and hit the left side of a 2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
The driver of the Cherokee was transported to Mercy Hospital South in south St. Louis County, according to the report.
The state trooper who filed the probable-cause statement wrote that Reichert had been involved in another accident in the area at about 10:15 a.m. that same day.
After the accident at the intersection, Reichert allegedly showed signs of being intoxicated, and he appeared confused after he put a pullover hooded sweatshirt on backwards, the report said.
The trooper wrote that Reichert did not appear capable of performing field sobriety tests safely. The trooper did take a preliminary breath sample, which allegedly showed Reichert had a .344 percent blood-alcohol content, according to the report.
In Missouri, .08 percent is the legal limit.