A Montgomery County jury yesterday sentenced a Conroe man to 99 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice late yesterday afternoon. A jury in Judge Lisa Michalk’s court convicted James Steven Corley, 52, for felony Driving While Intoxicated on Tuesday and deliberated for a little over an hour on the punishment phase of the trial Wednesday. Corley will not be eligible for parole until his actual time served and any good conduct time earned equals one-fourth of his sentence. As a habitual felon, Corley was facing twenty-five years to life in prison.
Prosecutors Warren Diepraam and Mary Nan Huffman presented evidence during the guilt stage that on August 28th, 2010, Corley was stopped for a busted tail-light and weaving within his lane. During the stop, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office deputy K. Underwood detected signs of impairment on Corley and asked for assistance from a traffic and DWI unit. Evidence showed that deputy Steve Degner arrived on the scene and conducted field sobriety tests on Corley who failed. Degner stated that Corley was arrested and provided a blood sample which revealed that he was a 0.05 to 0.10 at the time of driving but that he also had a prescribed seizure medication in his system that contributed to his impairment. Mike Manes of the new Sam Houston State University Crime Lab in The Woodlands testified that the alcohol combined with the drug would result in the impairment Corley displayed to the two deputies. Prosecutor, Warren Diepraam, stated that this is the first time one of The Woodlands lab personnel has testified on behalf of the lab and that the jury appreciated Manes’ testimony. The jury deliberated for a little over two hours before convicting Corley of DWI 3rd or more.
During the punishment phase of the trial, prosecutor Mary Nan Huffman introduced sixteen prior DWI convictions from two states and multiple Texas counties. The prosecution brought in several witnesses to testify about punishment including Trooper Nick Moore with DPS who testified about another felony DWI arrest of Corley a year earlier in Rains County and Officer R.J. Littler from the Cobb County Police Department in Georgia who testified about a Georgia DWI and how Corley assaulted him during the arrest. Huffman introduced evidence that Corley was fleeing from a burglary and assault of his girlfriend when he was stopped by Underwood for the felony DWI. Additionally, prosecutors introduced evidence that Corley had many convictions for other crimes including escape, assault, theft, driving with no insurance, and more. Prosecutors also showed that Corley has taken no steps to address his habit of drinking and driving. During cross-examination by Diepraam, Corley stated that he never thinks about the people that he could kill when driving impaired.
During closing arguments, the defense attorney asked for leniency for his client and minimized the dangers of impaired driving. Prosecutor Mary Nan Huffman stated that Corley should be locked up for good because a long sentence will ensure that he never drives again and that it is just a matter of time before he kills himself or an innocent victim. Diepraam stated that the defendant is playing “Russian Roulette” with our lives and that the only proven way to prevent him from driving is to send him away for good. Diepraam stated after the jury’s verdict that he appreciated the jury’s service and verdict and that this case shows that Montgomery County residents will not tolerate drivers who have no concern for the safety of the people..
