A man given life sentence for 9th DWI

2023-04-20 08:59:55 Written by Antony

Christopher Faran Stanford, a 50-year-old resident of Weatherford, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for his ninth DWI offense. He had pleaded guilty to a felony DWI charge and elected to have a Parker County jury determine his punishment.

The Parker County District Attorney's Office revealed that Stanford had been sentenced to prison four times before for DWI charges in Tarrant, Dallas, Rockwall, and Johnson counties.

"His record showed that he was going to continue endangering communities throughout the Metroplex unless he was locked up," Parker County DA Jeff Swain said in a release.

On August 15, 2022, a crash occurred at the intersection of FM 51 and SH 171, just south of Weatherford, leading to the latest DWI charge against Stanford. Following investigations, it was discovered that Stanford's vehicle ran a red light and collided with the rear of another vehicle.

After allegedly informing the other driver that he had to leave as he was going to get into trouble, Stanford fled the scene on foot. He was located approximately 30 minutes later, having jumped over a barbed wire fence that caused his jeans and shirt to tear.

According to authorities, Stanford attempted to headbutt an EMT who was attending to him. His blood alcohol concentration level was determined to be 0.267, more than three times the legal limit.
During the punishment phase, while testifying, he reportedly told the jurors that he did not believe he had a problem with alcohol and that he was simply "very unlucky." The district attorney's office provided this information.

While the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles will have the final say on whether and when he will be released, Stanford will be eligible for parole once he has served his time in prison and earned good time credit, which adds up to a total of 15 years.