DUI assault nets five years

Nov. 14, 2006

By MARY AMES

Frontiersman

PALMER -A woman who drove drunk, smashed into another car head on and walked home, leaving two seriously injured people at the scene, received a five-year sentence for assault Monday.

Julie Hale, 39, had a preliminary breath test of .351 when police officers traced her through her wrecked car's license number and located her at her house, said Richard Payne, assistant district attorney, during Monday's hearing.

The crash happened shortly after 6:30 p.m. Oct. 31, 2005, Payne said, and the time and date were relevant because it was a time when lots of little children were on the roads in their annual hunt for Halloween candy.

&#8220Luckily, she didn't take out a pack of kids,” he said.

But the two people Hale did hit have yet to recover.

Hale was driving east in the westbound lane of the Palmer-Wasilla Extension near the Glenwood Avenue intersection when she hit a car driven by Richard Plucker, injuring him and his wife, Lisa, according to a report from the Wasilla police. Hale was charged with first- and third-degree assault, leaving the scene of an accident and driving under the influence, according to court records.

The Pluckers are &#8220exceptional people,” Payne said.

&#8220They contacted me to say they are not seeking blood or vengeance,” he said.

Payne said that, because Hale's two previous convictions for driving while intoxicated were prior to 1996, this DUI charge was not a felony. But Hale's &#8220staggering levels” of alcohol and the serious injuries she inflicted on the Pluckers should prompt the court to consider sentencing Hale's DUI as &#8220most serious,” he said. Payne asked Superior Court Judge Beverly Cutler to hand down 360 days on just the DUI, in addition to four years to serve, with five more years suspended, on the assault charges.

As part of Hale's plea agreement, the state dropped the charge of leaving the scene of an accident.

Hale had completed alcohol treatment at Clitheroe Center, and returned to jail when her treatment was complete, said Lee deGrazia, Hale's appointed attorney.

&#8220Clitheroe said she was ready to move successfully into society,” deGrazia said. &#8220She's putting all her energy into turning her life around.”

Hale was &#8220extremely remorseful” about what she'd done, was willing to pay any future medical bills related to the crash for the Pluckers, and hoped to lecture for Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, she said. The agreed minimum of 24 months was an appropriate sentence, deGrazia said, and she would be filing motions for Hale to receive jail-time credit for her time in treatment. Also, the court could recommend Hale serve what's left of her sentence on an ankle monitor, she said.

Lisa Plucker told the court the crash broke one cervical vertebrae and an ankle bone, and caused a compression fracture on another vertebrae. She had to have major surgery to keep her from bleeding to death that night, and she still faces reconstructive surgery, Plucker said.

&#8220In one night, I aged 10 years,” she said. &#8220It changed my life, my children's lives, my grandchildren's lives, the lives of my brothers and sisters and my husband's. I say this so she can never say it wasn't that bad. I want the community protected from her if she ever drinks again. I want her to never drive again.”

Speaking also for her husband, Plucker said she bore Hale no animosity or anger, but prayed this would never happen again and that Christ would enter into Hale's life. She also thanked Payne for his diligence and told the court the no-contact order against Hale could be removed.

&#8220I don't fear her unless she drinks,” Plucker said.

Hale spoke directly to the Pluckers when she said she was sorry and would forever stay focused on helping other women to not solve their problems with alcohol or drugs.

&#8220With God, I'm sure to succeed,” Hale said.

Judge Cutler read into the record part of a letter Hale wrote to the court. In the letter, Hale called the Pluckers &#8220prime people” and said they &#8220opened the doors for me to forgive myself.”

The assault was &#8220extremely serious,” and happened because Hale was &#8220blind drunk,” Cutler said. The sentences for each assault charge would run concurrently and would total what the state requested, five years to serve, and four years suspended, Cutler said. On the DUI charge, the judge agreed to hand down the 360 days Payne requested, but suspended 270 days.

Cutler also ordered Hale to pay the $31,109 she owes the Pluckers in restitution, in addition to future medical bills related to the crash that they submit to Hale's probation officer. Hale also must serve 30 days of her probation from a Oct. 3, 2005, no-contest plea to interfering with a report of a domestic violence crime, Cutler said.

Court records show the prosecution demised a charge of fourth-degree assault in that case.

Contact Mary Ames at 352-2284 or mary.ames@

frontiersman.com.