McHenry Co. man gets eight years in prison for 9th DUI

A McHenry County man with nine driving under the influence convictions under his belt won't have the option of picking up a 10th anytime soon.

A judge sentenced Luis M. Zarate this week to eight years in prison for his ninth DUI, a term that should keep him locked up and off the roads for at least four years.

Zarate, 41, of Woodstock, was sentenced after pleading guilty last month to aggravated driving under the influence, a Class X felony exposing him to a minimum six-year prison term.

The charge stemmed from allegations Zarate was driving drunk April 3, 2008 when a McHenry County Sheriff's deputy pulled over his pickup truck on Route 14 near Harvard.

Zarate, according to court records, previously served a two-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to a lesser aggravated driving under the influence charge following a 2004 arrest by Huntley police.

He's also been arrested multiple times in Woodstock and once in Crystal Lake on drunken driving charges, court records show.