A man already convicted twice for driving under the influence plead guilty a third time in Powhatan Circuit Court Monday, and will be sentenced Feb. 12.

Judge Thomas V. Warren made sure the defendant, Dana Jefferson, understood that he had shown no regard for the safety of other drivers on Aug. 3, just before he was arrested for DUI for the third time in ten years.

“Mr. Jefferson, this is serious business,” said Warren. “Driving under the influence is one of the biggest problems residents have in this county… It’s a nightmare, an absolute nightmare.”

Jefferson, 42, had initially been pulled over for a speeding violation, but was found to have a blood alcohol level of .11. A subsequent check of his DMV record showed an incidence of driving with a revoked license and reckless driving. He had previously been convicted of unauthorized use of a vehicle, a felony, in 2002.

Jefferson was found guilty and now faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years.

“You’ve already been convicted twice before,” Warren said. “And I’m going to consider all of those things.”

Another guilty plea was offered in the case against Tracy Saldana Hudler, 38. Hudler was charged with prescription fraud, a Class II misdemeanor after forging someone else’s name on a prescription.

Hudler had been asked to watch a neighbor’s home while he was away, and the neighbor became suspicious after noticing that some pills were missing.

Hudler admitted both to taking the pills and to fraudulent use of the prescription, telling police that she had become addicted to the painkiller Darvocet.

After hearing the facts of the case, Warren approved a request for one year of supervised probation and allowed the charge to be reduced from a felony to a Class I misdemeanor.

“There’s a lot at stake here,” said Warren. “You had better be living at the foot of the cross unless you want a felony conviction.”

The court also heard the case of Jermaine Reddick, 23, accused of possessing a controlled substance.

On Sept. 10, Trooper Otis L. Jackson stopped Reddick for speeding at around 10:30 p.m. Trooper Jackson stated during the trial that he smelled a strong odor of marijuana and asked the defendant if he had been using the drug. The defendant admitted that he had in fact been using marijuana and a search of the car revealed a bag of marijuana as well as a small amount of white powder wrapped in cellophane and paper.

After the arrest was made, according to Jackson, Reddick told Jackson that “this is not a big bust…I’m just a small fish,” and indicated that there may have been other drugs in the car that had not been found during the search.

Reddick’s attorney, William Linka, asked that the case be dismissed, arguing that there was insufficient evidence presented to verify that both the car and the drugs were Reddick’s.

Asked if he had asked the defendant if the drugs were his, Trooper Jackson said he had not. “I didn’t think of it,” he said.

Warren said he would not dismiss the case, but did ask why the officer did not question Reddick further after he made the comments about not being “a big fish.”

“The whole purpose of Miranda is to set the stage for some kind of questions…and nothing was done,” said Warren.

Reddick was found guilty and will be sentenced Feb. 12

Other court proceedings:

Isiah Jermaine Robinson, a 17-year-old ward of Beaumont Correctional Center, will be sentenced Feb. 12 for the unlawful wounding of a fellow inmate on Sept. 29, 2007.

Robinson plead guilty to the charge that he and two other inmates who were sharing a dormitory room tied up a fourth inmate, then assaulted him. He faces up to five years under state sentencing guidelines.

Lanell Scott, 42, plead guilty to operating a motor vehicle after being declared a habitual offender. In a separate case, Edward Hopkins, Jr. 43, plead guilty to possession of cocaine.

Both men were found guilty and will be sentenced on Feb. 12