Barry W. Copeland Sr., 50, of Fenton has been sentenced to seven years in prison for felony driving while intoxicated, court documents indicate.
It was his third offense, according to the report.
In December 2012, Copeland was pulled over along Hwy. 30 and Little Brennan Road in High Ridge “following a series of moving violations,” and the deputy smelled alcohol on his breath, the probable-cause statement said.
Copeland refused to take a breath test, but he failed field sobriety tests, the report said.
He pleaded guilty to the charge and on May 19, Jefferson County Div. 3 Circuit Judge Nathan B. Stewart sentenced him to seven years. However, he may be released early if he successfully completes a two-year treatment program, according to the report.
Jefferson County assistant prosecuting attorney Thomas E. Hollingsworth handled the case.
Copeland previously pleaded guilty to misdemeanor DWI connected to a May 1999 incident in St. Louis and got two years’ probation, the report said.
He also pleaded guilty to felony second-degree assault – operating a vehicle while intoxicated resulting in injury and three counts of felony second-degree endangering the welfare of a child stemming from a September 1999 incident in Jefferson County and was sentenced in May 2001 to five years in that case, according to court papers.
In addition, Copeland pleaded guilty to two counts of felony unlawful use of a weapon tied to a January 2001 incident in St. Louis and was sentenced in January 2002 to five years for that.