And he still walked away from it... this shit is ridiculous.
Chronic DUI driver arrested
By Vicky Wicks, Journal Staff Writer
RAPID CITY -- A Rapid City man who may have been been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol as many as 30 times over several decades was arrested again Tuesday afternoon for DUI.
Even though he has a prior DUI charge pending and twice failed to show up for court on that charge, Jerry Raymond Zeller, 64, was released from Pennington County Jail on Wednesday morning after posting a $2,800 bond.
And Wednesday afternoon, Rapid City Police Detective Elias Diaz prepared a report asking the Pennington County state's attorney to charge Zeller's mother, Bonnie Zeller, 84, with allowing an unauthorized person to drive a vehicle registered in her name.
Police Chief Craig Tieszen said: "It's outrageous that Mr. Zeller is allowed to continue to flout the criminal justice system. ... Right now it's an interesting news story, but we will all be outraged when he kills somebody on (DUI) number 35."
The exact number of times Zeller has been arrested for DUI is hard to determine. Senior Police Officer Ron Bedard, who arrested Zeller on Tuesday, noted in his report that Zeller's criminal record "seems to indicate roughly 33 prior arrests for DUI."
However, Kara Wood, Pennington County deputy state's attorney, said some of the entries on the criminal record might be duplicates. By her count, Zeller has been arrested 16 times and convicted nine times since 1980, but she added, "I just don't have an accurate number."
Wood said Zeller's DUI arrest Tuesday was his second in five months.
Zeller was arrested and charged with second-offense DUI on Oct. 7, a charge that is still pending. He was released from jail on bond on that charge and failed to appear Nov. 3 and again Dec. 27 for status hearings, Wood said.
After the second no-show, a bench warrant was issued for his arrest, requiring a $2,500 cash bond, according to the clerk of courts.
Zeller was released from jail on bond Wednesday only minutes before his scheduled 10 a.m. 7th Circuit Magistrate Court session, where he would have had to face a judge. He posted the $2,500 set for the bench warrant as well as a standard bond of $300, according to jail personnel.
Scott Schuft, jail administrator, said a standard bond schedule is set through the court system. When someone is brought in, the arresting officer tells what the charge is, and bond is automatically set.
Lila Doud, president of the Pennington County chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, was stunned to find out that Zeller was released from jail.
"I don't know what to say," she said. "We have just absolutely got to get him off the road so he doesn't kill someone, because we know it's going to happen, sooner or later."
Doud said that Zeller is responsible for driving drunk but faulted his mother for allowing him to drive cars registered in her name.
"I have to question why we keep allowing her to continually provide him a vehicle," Doud said.
The 2005 Legislative session has two bills designed to address repeat DUI offenders.
SB98 would make a fifth offense a class 4 felony and provide for a minimum two-year revocation of driving privileges.
That law wouldn't currently have an effect on Zeller because he is facing only misdemeanor charges. Tieszen said that Zeller went to the penitentiary long enough in the past that he is starting over on getting the three arrests in 10 years necessary for a felony charge.
And Wood said that because Zeller has not been convicted of a second DUI, any offenses committed in the meantime won't count toward a felony. "If he had pled guilty but not been sentenced yet, he could have gotten a third," Wood said of Zeller's arrest Tuesday.
A first or second DUI is a class 1 misdemeanor, carrying a maximum jail term of one year, as are three additional charges Zeller faces: two driving under revocation charges and a hit and run from the October incident, when he struck a mailbox, Wood said.
If Zeller is convicted of all five class 1 misdemeanors currently pending, Wood said, he could be sentenced to a year in jail on each charge, and "all could be consecutive sentences. It's a possibility."
The other DUI bill before the Legislature, SB147, would require the use of an ignition interlock device in motor vehicles used by people convicted of a second DUI and would make it a class 1 misdemeanor for someone to "knowingly assist" a restricted person to start and operate a motor vehicle.
Current state law prohibits allowing an unauthorized person to drive, and that is the law under which Zeller's mother is being charged. Diaz said the charge is a class 2 misdemeanor, carrying a penalty of 30 days in jail and a $200 fine. However, the standard sentence "is typically a $94 fine," he said.
Zeller was arrested Tuesday afternoon about 3:30 p.m. in the 600 block of East North Street, five or six blocks from his home at 601 E. Madison St. Police dispatch received a call from a person concerned that Zeller was getting behind the wheel of a car, according to Bedard's report. When Bedard arrived, he said Zeller was trying to start the car, a 1986 Toyota Corolla registered to his mother.
Bedard reported asking Zeller some routine questions, including what time of day it was, to which Zeller replied, "I don't know — 10 or 11 o'clock." Bedard said he asked Zeller if he had been drinking, and Zeller said, "Sure."
Bedard wrote in his report that Zeller's speech was slurred and that his actions were slow and clumsy. When he stepped out of the vehicle, Zeller was unsteady and held onto the car for support, according to the report.
Bedard wrote that Zeller was verbally abusive and that "as he yelled and cursed at me, I could smell the distinct odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath."
Zeller refused to go through sobriety tests in the parking lot where he was apprehended, but after he was taken to the jail and read his Miranda rights, he agreed to have his blood drawn for testing — "It will prove my innocence," he told Bedard — and also agreed to a breath test, which indicated a blood alcohol content of .286 percent, the report said.
According to the report, Zeller agreed to talk to Bedard but soon stopped answering questions and told Bedard to sit down and have a cup of coffee with him.
Zeller is scheduled to appear in magistrate court at 8:15 a.m. Monday on all charges. According to a Nov. 19, 1990, notation on his driver's history, his driver's license has been revoked for life.
Contact Vicky Wicks at 394-8318 or vicky.wicks@rapidcityjournal.com
