Chronic drunk driver sent to prison

Flathead District Judge Ted Lympus sentenced a chronic drunk driver to 20 years in prison Thursday.

"If I could put him away until the end of time, I think I'd do it," Lympus said of Randy Turner.

Turner, 47, pleaded guilty in November to felony DUI. After three DUIs, the crime becomes a felony.

Turner has at least nine convictions and probably has been charged with DUI even more, according to his lawyer, Glen Neier.

One of the convictions came after Turner slammed his truck into a young woman's vehicle in 1984, leaving her permanently disabled.

Probation and parole officer Paul Parrish probed the numbers a little harder.

He said Turner has 12 prior DUIs, 11 counts of driving without a valid license, was referred to treatment five times and won't attend Alcoholics Anonymous at all.

The maximum sentence for felony DUI is 13 months. Prosecuting County Attorney Ed Corrigan asked that Turner be designated a persistent felony offender, which adds five to 100 years to a sentence.

Corrigan recommended a sentence of 20 years with 10 suspended. He also asked Lympus to "absolutely forbid Mr. Turner from operating a motor vehicle for 20 years … We as a community and a society should no longer bear the risk of him operating a motor vehicle."

Neier said that even with a suspended sentence, "The state of Montana is going to control the life of Randy Turner for the next 20 years."

He argued for "one last time of treatment for his condition which he seems unable to control."

Lympus ordered Turner to be ineligible for parole until he completes treatment and other programs in prison.

It will take a lot to turn him around, Lympus said.

There has to be "a significant attitude change or all the king's horses and all the king's men aren't going to be able to put Mr. Turner back together again in terms of avoiding drinking and driving," Lympus said.

He agreed with Corrigan's prohibition on letting Turner drive.

"Should the defendant ever become eligible for parole, he shall be absolutely prohibited from operating a motor vehicle."

Turner will be given credit for time spent in jail since August 2003, when he was arrested after reportedly striking a parked vehicle, nearly hitting another and then striking a guard rail near Berne Park in Bad Rock Canyon.

His blood alcohol level was .228 - more than three times the legal limit.

"Thank God no one is dead yet," Lympus said.