By Staff
CASSOPOLIS - When Terry George drove drunk on Oct. 22, 2004, he crashed his vehicle into the passenger side of another car, sending two people to the hospital.
At trial, he tried one of the most popular defenses in the book
He claimed he drank after the crash, not before it.
The jury sided with the Cass County Prosecutor's Office and found otherwise.
At the conclusion of a one-day trial Tuesday, the jury found George, 27, of 30599 Wells St., Dowagiac, guilty of impaired driving.
Because George has two prior drunk driving convictions and a 1999 conviction for attempted receiving and concealing stolen property, he now faces up to seven and a half years in prison at sentencing next month.
Prosecutor Victor Fitz's Chief Assistant Jason Ronning, who tried the case, said, "We see this defense fairly frequently. A person, because of their drunkenness, gets in an accident, maybe hurts someone - even severely - and then tries to claim he drank after driving. It's a dangerous defense because if believed, it can put a drunk back out on the road with no consequences. Fortunately, juries aren't naive. They rarely buy it."
Ronning said one of the last things a law-abiding citizen would be expected to do is to start drinking after causing an accident - particularly when they know police will be investigating. Rather, the claim is made as a desperate effort to hide their drunk driving.
Around 9:30 p.m. on the October night in question, the defendant was found at the scene of an auto accident on M-51 near Wells Street in Pokagon Township.
When Cass County deputies responded to the scene, they spoke with George. He admitted driving. He smelled of alcohol. His eyes were bloodshot. His speech was slurred. He had difficulty walking.
When tested, he had a .12 alcohol level in his blood. He endangered deputies by physically struggling with them at the scene.
When George was arrested, he kicked and head-butted the patrol vehicle, causing damage to the window, door jamb and window track.
Jurors also convicted George of malicious destruction of police property for the police car damage.
With sentencing enhancements, he faces up to six years on that conviction, to run concurrently with his impaired driving conviction.
The two injured parties were in the vehicle George hit.
Passengers Thomas Sexton and Jennifer Burgess went to Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital in Dowagiac, where they were treated for various injuries and released.
Sexton had damage to his right elbow and right side. Burgess suffered injury to her knee. Both are now recovering.
George's sentencing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. May 6 before Circuit Court Judge Michael E. Dodge.