GREENSBURG, Pa. -- An Irwin woman was sentenced to 2 1/2 to 5 years in prison for her 10th and 11th DUI offenses since 1993, but District Attorney John Peck and
Mothers Against Drunk Driving said she's getting off easy.
Watch Michelle Wright's ReportProsecutors wanted Jessica Snyder to serve 7 to 14 years, but Judge Debra Pezze disagreed with that sentencing recommendation. Pezze didn't say why, although she did say she thinks the 41-year-old woman needs rehabilitation.
"It's frustrating, but it's also frightening because I've handled a number of vehicular homicide DUIs and I know the tragedy that that causes for everybody involved, and that is my main concern with this woman," Assistant District Attorney Allen Powanda said. "It's clear, from her record, she will not stop drinking and driving."
Snyder conceded she had a drinking problem. Defense attorney Amy Keim said Snyder is attending
Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in prison and "is serious about her rehabilitation."
Court records show Snyder has spent seven of the last 10 years incarcerated for drunken driving-related offenses.
While on parole, she was arrested in Irwin in June and outside West Hempfield Elementary School in August. Both times, her blood-alcohol content was nearly three times Pennsylvania's legal limit of 0.08 percent, records show.
Snyder's driver's license is suspended until 2030.
"There's really no 100 percent guarantee that she can't get behind the wheel, as is demonstrated by her extensive record," Powanda said.
Powanda has prosecuted several cases against Snyder. He said the state Legislature should consider making the DUI law tougher for each repeat offense.
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