LOGAN — A 44-year-old Logan man has been sentenced to prison after repeatedly driving under the influence of alcohol. John Jeffery Ahl Simmonds has been in the Cache County Jail since crashing into a utility pole in October.
Simmonds was sentenced Dec. 23 in Logan’s 1st District Court. He previously had accepted a plea deal in two separate cases, pleading guilty to two counts of driving under the influence, a third-degree felony.
Cache County Deputy Attorney Joshua Duty explained how Simmonds crashed into a power pole on Oct. 6. Police later determined his blood alcohol level was 10 times over the legal limit.
Duty asked the court to impose a prison sentence. He said Simmonds had a “lethal level of alcohol in his system after the latest arrest, and is not learning his lesson.”
Simmonds said he took full responsibility for his actions. He explained how his life had been heading downward.
Judge Spencer Walsh noted how Simmonds had admitted to drinking between 12-15 beers a day before being arrested. He told the defendant, “You are playing with fire.”
Simmonds was ordered to serve between zero-to-five years in the Utah State Correctional Facility and complete substance abuse treatment. He was given credit for time already served in jail.
It will be up to the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole to determine when Simmonds will be released.