Charles Bernard Wathen three-time DUI offender.

Third DUI conviction fails to net jail time for Charles Wathen in plea deal with St. Mary’s States Attorney Richard Fritz

LEONARDTOWN, MD. Three strikes for a DUI driver and he’s not out.  That is the justice system operated by St. Mary’s County States Attorney Richard Fritz when it comes to Charles Bernard Wathen, of Mechanicsville, Md.

Wathen was charged by St. Mary’s Sheriff’s Deputy Emory Johnson on April 12, 2015 at 6:24 am with DUI as he operated a 1998 Chevy at Cusic Court and Dallas Drive.  In a guilty plea deal with Fritz, Wathen was given no jail time and a fine of $484.50 with $252.50 of the fine suspended.  This deal for Wathen was on the occasion of his third DUI within ten years. Putting together this plea deal with Fritz was DUI attorney Joseph F. Vallario III, of Suitland, Md.

Wathen rang up his second DUI conviction when he was arrested by a Sheriff’s Deputy on Dec. 26, 2009 at 8:54 pm while operating a 2000 Chevy northbound on Rt. 5 south of Foley Mattingly Road and the charge of driving while under the influence of alcohol contributed to a collision.  Represented by Leonardtown Attorney Shane Mattingly, Wathen entered a plea of guilty in a deal with Fritz that ended with a fine of $300 and a year in jail with six months suspended.

Arrested on May 14, 2006, by a Maryland State Trooper while operating a vehicle southbound on Maryland Rt. 5 just north of the St. Mary’s County line, Wathen was charged with DUI. In a plea deal in Charles County District Court and represented by Leonardtown attorney Michael Davis, Wathen was given Probation Before Judgement, fined $92.50 and given a jail sentence of ninety days with all but two days suspended.

William Hamilton Scholten three-time DUI offender.

William Scholten Skates on DUI Plea Deals

LEONARDTOWN, MD. – William Hamilton Scholten pays a small price for driving while intoxicated in St. Mary’s County, Md.

When arrested by a St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Deputy for DUI at 9:17 pm on Nov. 9, 2009, on Rt. 5 at Heritage Lane, Scholten struck a deal with St. Mary’s States Attorney Richard Fritz for a Probation Before Judgement in return for a plea of guilty in St. Mary’s District Court on Feb. 4, 2010. The deal called for a jail sentence of thirty days with all of the jail time suspended and a fine of $192.50.

Not quite a month passed before Scholten was arrested again for DUI by a St. Mary’s Sheriff’s Deputy as he operated a 2002 Ford on Rt. 245 at Hayden Farm Lane on Dec. 12, 2009, at 5:31 pm.  Scholten was represented by Leonardtown attorney Michael Davis in the first arrest.

In the second DUI, Shawn Hrotic, a public defender, who is paid by the taxpayers, struck a deal with Fritz for his client in exchange for a guilty plea. On Feb. 24, 2010, Scholten was sent to jail for fifty-four days and fined $250.  On Jan. 4, 2011, Scholten violated his probation and was jailed once more.

District Court Judge Greg Wells allowed Scholten to leave the slammer and report to Walden for treatment the day after the plea deal was made, leaving Scholten to spend but one day in jail for his third DUI arrest.

On March 9, 2010, Scholten was arrested by a Maryland State Trooper for reckless driving and DUI, his third such arrest in less than six months. In a plea deal on May 4, 2010, arranged by Leonardtown attorney Michael Davis with Fritz, the DUI charge was dropped and Scholten entered a guilty plea to reckless driving. The Deal: One year in jail with six months suspended and a fine of $500.  District Court Judge Greg Wells allowed Scholten to leave the slammer and report to Walden for treatment the day after the plea deal was made, leaving Scholten to spend but one day in jail for his third DUI arrest.

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The following persons were arrested for DUI in St. Mary’s County, Md. by the St. Mary’s Sheriff’s Department

	DATE	NAME	AGE	ADDRESS	DEPUTY	LIC CON	PBT	BREATH	Photographs
1	12/1/2009	FORD, JULIUS WINSTON	61	CHARLOTTE HALL, MD	44	NO	0.19	0.25	Yes Julius Winston Ford DUI arrest
2	12/3/2009	BRAMBLE, LORIA JEAN	45	LEONARDTOWN, MD	225	YES	0.00	0.00	Yes Loria Bramble DUI arrest
3	12/5/2009	MCHUGH, MARTIN JAMES III	22	ST INIGOES,M D	202	YES	NOT OFFERED	0.20	Martin James McHugh 3rd DUI arrest
4	12/5/2009	ARCHIBALD, HAYLEY DAWN M	36	CALIFORNIA, MD	92	YES	NOT OFFERED	0.14	Haley Dawn Archibald DUI arrest
5	12/9/2009	ARNEY, JAMES DONALD	36	MECHANICSVILLE, MD	184	NO	NOT OFFERED	0.13	James Donald Arney DUI arrest
6	12/10/2009	SHORTER, MARCUS DE VON	22	RIDGE, MD	207	YES	0.16	0.14	Marcus Devon Shorter DUI arrest
7	12/12/2009	SCHOLTEN, WILLIAM HAMIILTON	47	LEONARDTOWN, MD	39	NO	REFUSED	REFUSED	William Hamilton Scholten three-time DUI offender.
8	12/15/2009	SMITH, JEFFERY ROBERT	43	LEXINGTON PARK, MD	217	YES	0.20	0.16	Jeffrey Robert Smith
9	12/14/2009	EBERWEIN, JOHN IRVIN	38	MECHANICSVILLE, MD	223	NO	NOT OFFERED	0.00	John Irvin Eberwein DUI arrest
10	12/16/2009	RIESS, MICHAEL BRANDON	22	MECHANICSVILLE, MD	225	YES	0.20	0.17	Michael Brandon Riess DUI arrest
11	8/17/2009	READ, SHANNA MIA	31	LEXINGTON PARK, MD	198	NO	NOT OFFERED	0.18	No
12	8/31/2009	SANDERS, CLINT COURTNEY	49	INDIAN HEAD, MD	196	YES	NOT OFFERED	0.12	No
13	12/26/2009	BANKINS, FRANCIS XAVIER	49	LEXINGTON PARK, MD	218	YES	0.15	0.15	No
14	12/26/2009	CARROLL, FRANCIS PATRICK JR	30	WALDORF, MD	218	NO	0.14	0.12	Francis Patrick Carroll DUI arrest
15	12/27/2009	SMYTHERS, KENNETH MICHAEL	23	HOLLYWOOD, MD	157	NO	0.17	REFUSED	Kenneth Michael Smythers DUI arrest
16	12/27/2009	CROCE, CARLO ALPHONSO	40	GREAT MILLS, MD	36	YES	0.23	REFUSED	Carlo Alphanso Croce DUI arrest
17	12/27/2009	FEICHT, TAMMY MARIE	37	CALIFORNIA, MD	218	YES	REFUSED	REFUSED	Tammy Marie Feicht DUI arrest
18	12/29/2009	KUZAWA, RAYMOND PATRICK	26	GREAT MILLS, MD	186	NO	NOT OFFERED	REFUSED	No
19	9/26/2009	RUSSELL, WILLIAM PATRICK JR	24	LEONARDTOWN, MD	129	YES	NOT OFFERED	0.19	William Patrick Russell Jr. DUI arrest
20	12/26/2009	WATHEN, CHARLES BERNARD	33	MECHANICSVILLE, MD	39	YES	NOT OFFERED	0.21	Charles Bernard Wathen three-time DUI offender.