Driver pleads guilty to 6th DUI charge
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Rutland Herald Staff - Published: December 11, 2009
BRATTLEBORO – A Brattleboro man facing his sixth drunken driving charge decided to plead guilty at the last minute at the start of his trial.
Marquise D. Lafayette, 47, was sentenced Tuesday to six to 10 years in prison, with a recommendation that he be sent to a prison work camp.
Lafayette was also being charged as a habitual offender and faced a potential life sentence, according to Windham County Deputy State's Attorney Steve Brown.
Lafayette was arrested in Newfane on July 15, 2008, after he pulled out in front of Vermont State Police Sgt. Eric Albright. His blood alcohol content was 0.189, which is more than double the legal limit.
Brown said that Lafayette had four drunken driving convictions in Vermont and at least one in Florida. He was convicted in 2000, 1991, 1988 and 1981 in Vermont, court records stated.
The long sentence was a result of his lengthy criminal record, said Brown, as well as his five drunken driving convictions.
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