Christopher C. Devoto, 55, a prior offender, was charged with suspicion of driving while intoxicated following a three-vehicle accident on Dec. 4 at Hwy. 30 and Little Brennan Road in the Murphy area in Jefferson County. Devoto, who has lived in High Ridge and Fenton, had more than a dozen previous DWI convictions, according to court records.
On Dec. 6, the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Devoto with DWI-habitual offender, a class B felony punishable by five to 15 years in prison. Devoto was being held in the Jefferson County Jail without bond.
Devoto was arrested Dec. 4 after a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputy who was in QuikTrip, 1617 Gravois Road, near Little Brennan Road got a report that someone was doing burnouts in a 2000 Dodge Durango at the intersection of Little Brennan Road and Hwy. 30, Sheriff’s Office spokesman Grant Bissell.
The deputy pulled behind the pickup, which Devoto was driving, and turned on the cruiser’s emergency lights. However, Devoto allegedly drove away from the cruiser, made a U-turn on Little Brennan Road and started driving slowly north toward Hwy. 30, the report said.
Devoto allegedly ran a red light at the intersection and started driving north in a southbound lane. Then, Devoto, who was driving between about 10 to 15 mph, reportedly crossed the intersection and ran head-on into a Ford Fusion that was stopped at a red light on southbound Little Brennan Road, according to the report.
Devoto allegedly continued forward, with the tires spinning, pushing the Fusion into a Jeep Wrangler that also was stopped at the light. Three passengers got out of the Fusion while it was being pushed backward, but the driver was still in the car when the pickup appeared to start climbing onto the car’s hood, the report said.
The deputy got out of the cruiser and ran to the passenger side of the pickup and tried to open the door, but it was locked. The deputy reported that Devoto appeared to be awake but was incoherent, so the deputy used his baton to break the passenger-side window, reached into the pickup and turned off the engine, according to the report.
An off-duty deputy who was driving on Little Brennan Road saw the incident and got out to assist the other deputy. The two pulled Devoto out of the pickup, and an ambulance was called when Devoto appeared to lose consciousness. Emergency medical personnel revived Devoto, and he was transported to Mercy Hospital South in south St. Louis County, the report said.
Devoto allegedly told the deputy and hospital staff his name was Christopher Miller and refused to answer any questions, the probable-cause statement in the case said.
Deputies reportedly found a capped syringe in Devoto’s pants pocket and a nearly empty bottle of Captain Morgan rum in the Durango, the report said.
Devoto already was wanted on four active warrants, including one for habitual DWI. In addition, he had at least 15 previous DWI offenses, according to the report.
In December 1992, Devoto pleaded guilty in St. Louis County to DWI and received a 30-day suspended sentence and was placed on two years’ probation. In October 1993, he pleaded guilty in St. Louis County to second-degree assault for operating a vehicle while intoxicated resulting in injury. He was sentenced to five years in prison, court documents said.
In August 1994, Devoto pleaded guilty in St. Charles to stealing a motor vehicle and being a persistent DWI offender. He was sentenced to two years in prison for stealing and three years for the DWI charge, and those sentences were served concurrently, or at the same time, with the sentence he received in 1993 in St. Louis County, according to court papers.
Court records show in January 1997 Devoto pleaded guilty to attempting to steal a motor vehicle in Valley Park, and a St. Louis County judge sentenced him to five years in prison.
In July 1998, Devoto pleaded guilty again in St. Louis County to a DWI charge and was sentenced to 60 days in jail, and in October 1998 he pleaded guilty in St. Louis County to a persistent DWI charge and was sentenced to one year in prison, court records indicate.
In April 2008, Devoto pleaded guilty in Jefferson County to charges for being a persistent and aggravated DWI offender, and he received sentences of seven years and 10 years for the charges, but the sentences were suspended after he completed a treatment program, and he was placed on five years’ probation, according to court documents.
In April 2019, he was charged in St. Louis County as a habitual DWI offender, and on March 3, he was charged with habitual DWI in St. Charles, court records show.