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Serial drunk driver filtered through justice system for years
By Jared Allen, jallen@nashvillecitypaper.com
June 23, 2006

When he was wheelchaired into criminal court just days after police say he drove his SUV head first into a Mt. Juliet couple, killing them both, Gustavo Reyes Garcia looked shaken and sullen — like his world had collapsed in an instant.

But an extensive review of Garcia’s criminal record in Davidson County, which dates back to 1997, reveals that Garcia, an illegal immigrant, is no stranger to the court system.

Nor is he a stranger — police say — to driving under the influence, evading arrest or trying to flee the scene of accidents.

In fact, a close examination of Garcia’s police and court records show a serial drunk driver who often clashed with police — sometimes violently — and who took drastic measures to avoid being pulled over or caught after accidents that resulted in injuries.

Between early 1997 and a few weeks ago, when he was arrested and charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter and one count of evading arrest, Garcia was arrested 17 times by Metro Police. At least 13 of those arrests involved driving infractions.

Over a nine-year period, Garcia’s driving charges included five DUIs, four charges of evading or resisting arrest, 10 charges of driving on either a suspended or revoked license, two charges of leaving the scene of an accident, and one charge of assaulting a Metro Police officer.

But despite his numerous run-ins with the law, Garcia always ended up back on the street — and invariably behind the wheel.

Since 2001 — as far back as Davidson County Sheriff’s Office records go — Garcia was placed in the Davidson County Jail 13 different times for a total of 168 days, according to Rick Gentry, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office.

But even in spite of his regular court appearances, the longest jail sentence Garcia served was 58 days, in July 2005, after he pled guilty to driving under the influence and driving with a revoked license.

“Driving on a suspended or revoked license is a misdemeanor offense,” said Metro Police spokesman Don Aaron. “You’re going to get out of jail soon, generally, on those offenses. And you can be admonished not to get back behind the wheel but, obviously, person after person does just that.”

“Once we bring a person into the system, it’s up to others to make decisions on the individual’s guilt and what punishment is appropriate,” Aaron said.

Before the July 2005 incident, most of Garcia’s cases resulted in suspended sentences.

In August 2001, Garcia was arrested and charged with DUI and leaving the scene of an accident with injuries, a felony. He pled guilty to a lesser offense and was given a jail sentence of 11 months and 29 days by General Sessions Judge Houston Hagar. All but seven days of that sentence were suspended.

On April 23, 2003, Garcia was again arrested and charged with leaving the scene of an accident with injuries as well as driving on a revoked license. Again, he pled guilty in court to a lesser charge. He was sentenced, again by Hagar, to 45 days in jail. After getting credit for time already served, Garcia walked out of jail on April 29.

Almost two years later, an incident that police say began with Garcia trying to steal beer from a store ended with him being arrested and charged with DUI, driving on a revoked license, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and assaulting an officer.

The case was dismissed for failure to prosecute because Metro officers did not show up for Garcia’s court appearance, District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Susan Niland said.

Less than three months after that case was dismissed, Garcia was arrested again for DUI and driving with a revoked license. Less than a year after that, he crashed his vehicle into the sedan driven by Sean and Donna Wilson of Mt. Juliet, who both died that day.

“This is obviously a tragedy no matter how you look at it. At the same time, this person was arrested multiple times and he did do time within the confines of what the law allows. These habitual offenders are a problem in every state,” Niland said.

“Every state tries to make their laws more stringent and Tennessee has one of the more stringent laws on DUIs,” Niland said. “But the system can only do what it can.”


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