McHenry Co. man gets prison after 7th DUI

A McHenry County man who picked up his seventh DUI for making a drunken beer run aboard an ATV was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison.

David S. Prescott, 51, of Wonder Lake, was found guilty by a jury earlier this year on charges of aggravated DUI and driving while license revoked stemming from his March 5, 2008, arrest near his hometown. It was his ninth conviction for driving with a revoked license, court records show.

Authorities said Prescott had just bought a 12-pack of beer when he was spotted by a McHenry County Sheriff's deputy leaving a Wonder Lake liquor store on an ATV and illegally driving it down a public road.

The deputy testified that after pulling Prescott over, he noticed the man slurred his speech and smelled of alcohol. Prescott, the deputy said, failed several field sobriety tests and was charged with DUI.

Prescott did not speak on his own behalf Wednesday, but during previous court proceedings he admitted he had drunk three beers before hopping on the ATV and making a run for more beer and cigarettes.

County prosecutors had asked for a 15-year sentence, while Prescott's attorney, Raymond Flavin, asked for the minimum six-year term, noting that his client's latest DUI charge was his first in 16 years. His prior DUIs occurred between 1983 and 1994 in McHenry, Kane and Lake counties.