By WECT Staff | March 11, 2021 at 9:20 AM EST – Updated March 11 at 9:20 AM
BRUNSWICK COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) – A man already serving time for habitual driving while impaired has been sentenced to at least 10 more years in prison.
Steven Rouse was convicted by a Brunswick County jury Wednesday for habitual driving while impaired and sentenced to 131-170 months in prison.
Rouse currently is serving a sentence of 26-41 months for a habitual driving while impaired conviction out of New Hanover.
He will serve the Brunswick County sentence after serving his current New Hanover County sentence.
“On November 29, 2019, Rouse wrecked his truck into a ditch on Mill Creek Road in Bolivia,” the District Attorney’s Office said in a news release. “A witness quickly responded to the collision and saw Rouse in the driver’s seat of the truck. Rouse fled the scene and walked down the road and into the woods. The K9 Unit with the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office responded and was able to track and locate Rouse hiding in the woods behind a bush.
“Trooper Ballard with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol conducted a Driving While Impaired investigation and determined Rouse to be impaired by alcohol. Trooper Ballard obtained blood from Rouse and sent it to the North Carolina State Crime Lab, which returned a blood alcohol concentration of .22.”
According to the N.C. Department of Public Safety website, Rouse’s current sentence is projected to end Dec. 4, 2022.
He also was convicted of habitual impaired driving in Brunswick County in 2017 and New Hanover in 2014. Rouse also was convicted of DWI in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011.
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