A Woodstock man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted for the ninth time of driving under the influence of alcohol.
Manuel Garcia, 60, of the 1900 block of Julie Street in Woodstock, was charged with four counts of aggravated driving under the influence and one count of driving while license revoked.
Officers of the Harvard Police Department were on routine patrol on January 17, 2021, and noticed a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu committing numerous lane violations, prosecutors said.
Officers stopped the vehicle and determined Garcia was driving. He was on parole from the Illinois Department of Corrections at the time.
Physical observations led officers to ask Garcia to perform standard field sobriety tests.
Based on their observations and Garciaโs performance on the field sobriety tests, Garcia was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, prosecutors said.
Garcia entered into a negotiated plea deal with the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office on Thursday.
He pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol, a Class X felony, in exchange for his other charges being dismissed.
Garcia has now been convicted nine times of driving under the influence of alcohol, the state’s attorney’s office said.
McHenry County Judge Michael Coppedge approved the plea deal and sentenced Garcia on Thursday to 10 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
The case was investigated by Officer Todd Oczus of the Harvard Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant Stateโs Attorney Ashur Y. Youash.