Local DMV head to serve jail time

March 01, 2000|By ANDREW SCHOTZ

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - The local director of the state Division of Motor Vehicles will serve six months in jail for driving with a revoked license, despite his plea for alternative sentencing, a judge decided Wednesday.

Berkeley County Circuit Judge David Sanders ruled that a previous sentence imposed on Craig Loy, who heads the Martinsburg DMV office, will stand.

Loy, 40, of 402 Porter Ave., Martinsburg, will serve six months in jail for driving on Jan. 22, 1999, several months after his license had been revoked.

He had asked to be confined to his home instead of going to jail, but Sanders said no. Instead, Loy will be on work release, under which he can leave jail only to go to work each day, according to Prosecuting Attorney Pamela Games-Neely.

Loy was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol on March 13, 1998, after his vehicle struck a guard rail near Mid-Atlantic Parkway, according to court records.

He pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of reckless driving in September 1998. He received a 30-day jail sentence, which was suspended, was placed on probation for one year and was fined $500 plus $67 in court costs.

His sentence included alcohol counseling and a driver safety program.

One condition of probation was to not violate the law within the next year. When Loy pleaded guilty in October 1999 to driving with a revoked license, Magistrate Sandra Miller sentenced him to six months in jail and fined him $100 plus $67 in court costs.

Loy had the sentence stayed while he petitioned the circuit court to let him serve his jail time at home.

In court on Monday, Loy apologized to his family and the community, and friends testified that he has abstained from alcohol.

Two days later, Sanders upheld Miller's decision.

Later Wednesday, Magistrate Harold E. Darlington added a 30-day jail sentence because Loy had violated the terms of his 1998 probation. The 30 days will run concurrent to the six-month sentence, Darlington said.

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