Drunk driver gets 16 years
by Cherry Rushin
(Posted 7/23/2010 02:52 pm)
newsdesk@grahamleader.com
A Graham man could spend the next 16 years in prison for driving while intoxicated.
John Matthew Sweatman, 40, was sentenced by Judge Stephen Crawford on Tuesday. He had three prior convictions of DWI when he was arrested for his fourth on Nov. 4, 2008.
Chief Deputy Carl Magee of the Young County Sheriff’s Office testified that he was the patrol deputy on duty at approximately 6:30 p.m. that evening when a 9-1-1 call came in reporting a possible drunk driver headed toward Graham.
The court listened to five 9-1-1 calls. With the first call, the vehicle was seen near FM 3003 and the caller stated the pickup was “all over the road.”
Most of the calls were by the same person giving updates of the trucks’ location and erratic driving including crashing into trash cans, making full circles at the intersection of Highway 67 and FM 209, then pulling out in front of a semi-truck and eventually traveling south in the northbound lane of Highway 67.
One caller reported, “There’s a drunk driver on (Highway) 67 two miles south of Graham. He was in my lane and almost ran me in the ditch.”
Magee testified that when he caught up with Sweatman on Highway 67 near K&K Motor and Salvage, he stopped him on the northbound traffic shoulder facing southbound. He administered a breathilyzer test that registered Sweatman’s blood-alcohol content at .246 — three times the legal limit.
District Attorney Brenda Gray presented copies of Sweatman’s prior convictions as evidence. His first occurred in June 1993 and was a probated sentence of one year. His probation was revoked in May 1994, and he served a year in the county jail.
He subsequently received two more convictions, one in 1996 and one in 1999, and received probation for both of those.
In July 2000, the probation was revoked and he was sentenced to four years.
He was given a seven-day furlough to get his affairs in order and was found in Fayettville, Ark. He received a 10-year sentence for escape.
All combined, he had received sentences of 16 years of incarceration for DWIs and escape of which he served three years.
When Sweatman took the stand to testify on his behalf, Sweatman’s attorney questioned him about developing an alcohol problem at an early age and being raised in an alcoholic family. Sweatman’s sixth grade teacher testified on his behalf saying she smelled alcohol on his breath as early as eighth grade.
Sweatman said he was scheduled to join an inpatient treatment program just nine days after his last arrest.
He admitted to having a problem with alcohol for most of his life and said he knew that he was going to prison. He said he was not seeking the court grant him probation. Gray outlined several arrests including another felony DWI arrest and two felony drug arrests that were never prosecuted and several for driving without a valid license.
“So you’ve had some pretty good breaks in your life?” she asked him, to which he agreed.
Sweatman’s wife Terri testified that she was near her breaking point when Sweatman was accepted in a treatment program.
“I told him he couldn’t come home unless he did something different. ... Got help,” she said.
When asked what she wanted for her husband, she replied, “I want him to get the help he needs, to stay clean and sober.”
The defense’s closing argument asked the court to consider Sweatman’s conduct and his history of being given alcohol at a very young age in choosing a sentence.
“He should be held accountable, responsible for his actions. ... He’s received 16 years, and he didn’t learn it in 16 years,” said Gray.
After considering the evidence, 90th Judical District Judge Stephen Crawford sentenced Sweatman to 16 years and a $5,000 fine.
“It’s a miracle no one was killed that night, and I can’t overlook that. I really hope you get the help you need,” he said.
by Cherry Rushin
(Posted 7/23/2010 02:52 pm)
newsdesk@grahamleader.com
A Graham man could spend the next 16 years in prison for driving while intoxicated.
John Matthew Sweatman, 40, was sentenced by Judge Stephen Crawford on Tuesday. He had three prior convictions of DWI when he was arrested for his fourth on Nov. 4, 2008.
Chief Deputy Carl Magee of the Young County Sheriff’s Office testified that he was the patrol deputy on duty at approximately 6:30 p.m. that evening when a 9-1-1 call came in reporting a possible drunk driver headed toward Graham.
The court listened to five 9-1-1 calls. With the first call, the vehicle was seen near FM 3003 and the caller stated the pickup was “all over the road.”
Most of the calls were by the same person giving updates of the trucks’ location and erratic driving including crashing into trash cans, making full circles at the intersection of Highway 67 and FM 209, then pulling out in front of a semi-truck and eventually traveling south in the northbound lane of Highway 67.
One caller reported, “There’s a drunk driver on (Highway) 67 two miles south of Graham. He was in my lane and almost ran me in the ditch.”
Magee testified that when he caught up with Sweatman on Highway 67 near K&K Motor and Salvage, he stopped him on the northbound traffic shoulder facing southbound. He administered a breathilyzer test that registered Sweatman’s blood-alcohol content at .246 — three times the legal limit.
District Attorney Brenda Gray presented copies of Sweatman’s prior convictions as evidence. His first occurred in June 1993 and was a probated sentence of one year. His probation was revoked in May 1994, and he served a year in the county jail.
He subsequently received two more convictions, one in 1996 and one in 1999, and received probation for both of those.
In July 2000, the probation was revoked and he was sentenced to four years.
He was given a seven-day furlough to get his affairs in order and was found in Fayettville, Ark. He received a 10-year sentence for escape.
All combined, he had received sentences of 16 years of incarceration for DWIs and escape of which he served three years.
When Sweatman took the stand to testify on his behalf, Sweatman’s attorney questioned him about developing an alcohol problem at an early age and being raised in an alcoholic family. Sweatman’s sixth grade teacher testified on his behalf saying she smelled alcohol on his breath as early as eighth grade.
Sweatman said he was scheduled to join an inpatient treatment program just nine days after his last arrest.
He admitted to having a problem with alcohol for most of his life and said he knew that he was going to prison. He said he was not seeking the court grant him probation. Gray outlined several arrests including another felony DWI arrest and two felony drug arrests that were never prosecuted and several for driving without a valid license.
“So you’ve had some pretty good breaks in your life?” she asked him, to which he agreed.
Sweatman’s wife Terri testified that she was near her breaking point when Sweatman was accepted in a treatment program.
“I told him he couldn’t come home unless he did something different. ... Got help,” she said.
When asked what she wanted for her husband, she replied, “I want him to get the help he needs, to stay clean and sober.”
The defense’s closing argument asked the court to consider Sweatman’s conduct and his history of being given alcohol at a very young age in choosing a sentence.
“He should be held accountable, responsible for his actions. ... He’s received 16 years, and he didn’t learn it in 16 years,” said Gray.
After considering the evidence, 90th Judical District Judge Stephen Crawford sentenced Sweatman to 16 years and a $5,000 fine.
“It’s a miracle no one was killed that night, and I can’t overlook that. I really hope you get the help you need,” he said.
