Four Years In Prison For Driving A Riding Mower Through Town?

Can you really get four years in prison for driving a riding mower through town? Yes, you can. As you might expect, there’s more to it than that. As reported by qconline.com:

For the sixth time in his life, William “Pete” White is heading to the Illinois Department of Corrections.

 A Mercer County judge sentenced the former Viola man Tuesday to four years in prison for driving with a revoked license back on July 18, 2011.

Mr. White, 43, was arrested for driving a riding mower through town.

Mr. White’s defense attorney, Dan Dalton, argued he never had seen someone sent to prison for driving a mower.

Maybe so. But how many folks who drive mowers through town on a suspended license have a record like this?

Judge Greg Chickris said he also considered other factors, such as Mr. White’s 57 prior convictions for various criminal felony and misdemeanor offenses, the first when he was 15 years old.

”

Note: That’s 57 convictions. Yikes.

He (Mr. White) was basically on a crime spree here,” Judge Chickris said. “He has a horrendous history of prior delinquency and criminal activity.”

This was Mr. White’s 11th conviction for driving on a revoked license, according to Mercer County Probation and Court Services Director Vicky Hansen. He has been convicted six times for driving under the influence of alcohol, she said.

Wow.