CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A Nebraska man received a mix of probation and incarceration on Dec. 27 for his fourth DUI conviction, with Judge Steven K. Sharpe sentencing him under a plea agreement.
Abel R. Anaya, 27, pleaded guilty to felony DUI, his fourth offense, which carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison. As part of the plea deal, Anaya was sentenced to two to five years in prison, with all but 90 days suspended in favor of three years of supervised probation.
Judge Sharpe also ordered that Anaya serve the 90 days at the Cheyenne Transitional Center, or CTC, beginning Jan. 8, 2025. Anaya received credit for 21 days already served.
The sentence includes $325 in court costs, which Anaya must pay. However, public defender fees of $500 were waived given the costs of the CTC program and Anaya’s inability to pay.
The charges stem from a Jan. 8 rollover crash at mile marker 12 on Wyoming Highway 215. Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper Rebecca Monnett, the arresting officer, reported arriving to find Anaya’s overturned vehicle in a field. Firefighters at the scene detected the odor of alcohol on Anaya, who was transported to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center for treatment.
A search of the vehicle revealed an open alcohol container on the driver’s side. Trooper Monnett noted that Anaya later provided a urine sample. Anaya was then arrested for DUI, failure to maintain a single lane and driving without a valid license.
Anaya’s criminal record includes three prior DUI convictions in Scottsbluff County, Nebraska. Prosecutors dismissed the lesser charges of lane usage and driving without a valid license as part of the plea agreement.
