The State Supreme Court refused to hear the case of a Putnam County man found guilty of his third driving under the influence offense.
The appeal challenged the sufficiency of the evidence, the use of a redacted traffic stop video, and the length of the sentence imposed by the trial court.
Stanley William Havens stopped by a state trooper in October 2021 for speeding and failing to maintain his lane. A blood test later revealed a blood alcohol content of 0.188 percent, and the jury convicted Havens of driving under the influence and driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or higher.
The defense argued that the trial court improperly excluded an unredacted video of the traffic stop, but the appellate court said the defense chose not to play the full video during the trial.
“The defense also objected to a story the prosecutor told during jury selection about a dog named Archie eating a steak, but the appellate court said the issue was waived because no contemporaneous objection was made. The trial court sentenced Havens to serve 11 months and 29 days in confinement with a release eligibility of 75 percent due to the high risk to human life and his lack of candor.