Montgomery County Judge Sentences Drunk Driver to 50 Years for Sixth DWI

CONROE, TX — Ronnie Paul Hobgood Jr. won't be toasting anyone's health for a very long time. Hobgood, 45, was recently sentenced to 50 years in the can for his sixth DWI.

On February 7, Hobgood was leaving an undisclosed bar in Montgomery County when the bartender noticed that Hobgood was highly intoxicated.

The bartender tried to keep Hobgood from driving, but Hobgood wasn't listening to anyone but the booze. Hobgood fired up his truck, put it in gear and backed into a parked car.

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The bartender started to call the cops, Hobgood tried to flee the scene. Some concerned citizens blocked Hobgood in the parking lot.

Hobgood hoped the curb, headed out on the I-45 North feeder road and hit another car. He hightailed it out of there, but he wasn't faster than the police band.

A local wrecker driver saw Hobgood's, now damaged, truck and called it in. A state trooper responded and was able to get Hobgood to stop.

Hobgood showed every sign of being intoxicated — he reeked of booze, couldn't stand up straight and failed the field sobriety test. His blood work showed a BAC of 2.72, well over three times the legal limit and pretty close to death.

Hobgood has a long history of DWI related offenses dating back to 1990. He also did two stints in prison for DWI type offenses. His prior record pointed to him being a habitual offender, which gave him a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison.

Judge Michael Mayes presiding over the 410th District Court of Montgomery County decided that wasn't good enough and put Hobgood away for 50 years.