McHenry man sent to prison for 6th DUI conviction

Licensed or not, drunk or not, nothing was going to stop Michael Lentini from driving.

Until now.

A McHenry County judge sentenced the 49-year-old McHenry man to three years in prison Tuesday for his sixth DUI conviction to go along with his 24 priors for driving on a suspended or revoked license.

Judge Joseph Condon ordered that the sentence be served consecutively with a four-year term he received recently for his fifth DUI in Lake County, raising Lentini's total term to seven years. He also has prior DUI convictions in Cook and DuPage counties.

The latest conviction stems from a Feb. 28, 2008 incident in which, authorities said, Lentini forced another car off the road while driving in a snowstorm in Johnsburg. Police arrested him as he was walking away from the scene.

Condon convicted Lentini of felony aggravated DUI after a trial in December.

In court Tuesday, Assistant McHenry County State's Attorney Michael Combs said Lentini's long criminal history, which also includes a short prison stay for retail theft, shows he has no regard for the law.

"If we've learned anything about the defendant from his actions, it's as soon as he gets out of custody, he'll get back behind the wheel and drive," Combs said.

"He's a menace. Everywhere the defendant goes, he offends," he added.

After Lentini made a brief statement asking for leniency, his defense lawyer blamed his client's crimes on alcoholism.

"This is a person who has seen the errors of his ways and is ready to move on with his life," attorney Kevin McBride said.