A Florida
resident who dismissed his criminal defense lawyer and opted to represent himself in
court for the accidental death of his wife during a drunk driving incident two
years ago was sentenced to 25 years in prison, the maximum allowed by law.
Charles
Peoples, 60, was found guilty of having his wife killed in a drunk driving
accident in 2010 when he veered into the path of an oncoming car on Interstate
75. At the time of his arrest, he had a blood alcohol level of 0.204, which is
well above the legal limit of 0.08 in Florida. He was then also already on
probation and driving with a revoked license. Aggravating matters further,
police said he cut his wife’s seat belt
and moved her behind the steering wheel in an apparent attempt to mislead
investigators from learning that he was driving unlawfully.
Given his
record of multiple arrests over the past 40 years, Circuit Judge Gregory Holder
last week sentenced Peoples to 25 years in prison for having been found guilty
on charges of DUI manslaughter, driving on a revoked sentence, and violating
probation.
Representing
himself at trial, Peoples initially pleaded not guilty. Later, he switched to a
guilty plea apparently to avoid trial. A third motion to change his plea back
to not guilty was already disallowed by the judge. When Peoples requested a
delay in sentencing so a doctor could testify on his behalf, Judge Holder
refused. Instead, the judge simply read the doctor’s written report.