Man Gets 20 Years in 9th DUI Case

A suburban Chicago man was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for what is reportedly his 9th drunken driving conviction.

After Taurino Maldonado's conviction in April by a DuPage County jury of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol, Judge Kathryn Creswell could have sentenced the 42-year-old Bensenville man to as much as 30 years, reports the Chicago Tribune.

DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett says in a press release that none of Maldonado's convictions involved accidents with injuries, notes the Daily Herald, a suburban Chicago newspaper.

However, Birkett says his office upgraded the charges against Maldonado to felonies, once they found out about his extensive DUI record. "Time and time again, Mr. Maldonado thumbed his nose at the law," the prosecutor says. "He continued to get behind the wheel not only after his first or second DUI, but after his seventh and eighth."