Gerald Wayne Parsons, 60, of Festus, a chronic offender, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for driving while intoxicated on drugs and alcohol and assault of a law enforcement officer, court records indicate.
It was his fifth DWI offense.
In March 2014, Parsons was driving on Hwy. Z just west of Sandy Creek Road in Pevely and ran off the right side of the road onto the shoulder, where his vehicle struck two other vehicles parked there, including a Pevely Police patrol vehicle on a traffic stop with flashing lights on, the probable-case statement said.
A Pevely Police detective was inside the vehicle and was injured, suffering abrasions to his face and head and neck pain, the report said.
Another law enforcement officer who responded to the scene said Parsons smelled of alcohol, and Parsons said he had been drinking at a friend’s house and then while driving home, began feeling pain from a previous injury and took some oxycontin and oxycodone, according to the report.
He said he fell asleep, which caused him to crash into the parked vehicles, the report said.
Parsons refused to take field sobriety tests or provide a blood sample, but he was arrested for DWI and vehicular assault of a law enforcement officers, the report said.
He pleaded guilty to DWI - chronic offender and second-degree assault of a law enforcement officer, both felonies.
On April 20, Jefferson County Div. 6 Circuit Judge Troy A. Cardona sentenced Parsons to two 12-year terms, one for each charge, but they are to be served concurrently, or at the same time, according to court documents.
Jefferson County assistant prosecuting attorney Thomas E. Hollingsworth handled the case.
Parsons previously pleaded guilty to DWI for a January 1985 incident in Osage Beach, for an April 2006 incident in Lake Ozark, for a July 2006 incident in Festus and a December 2007 incident in Herculaneum, court papers show.
He currently is in the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre.