A man who had been on trial in May of 2019 when he fled the jurisdiction in the middle of his jury trial was sentenced Monday.
According to Micheal Murray, District Attorney, Donald Ray Stone was sentenced by Judge Sam Moss to life in prison on a Driving While Intoxicated charge.
Murray said that Stone initially faced third degree charges for a felony Driving While Intoxicated offense. However, Stone’s punishment was enhanced because of two previous prison sentences he had served – one for causing serious bodily injury to a child in 1995 and another for a separate felony Driving While Intoxicated offense from 2009. Stone also had a previous felony conviction for Evading Arrest in a Vehicle that arose while he was driving while intoxicated.
After Stone’s disappearance during his 2019 trial, Judge Moss issued a warrant for Stone’s re-arrest. Stone was ultimately taken into custody on February 26 in Chickasaw Nation Oklahoma and extradited back to Brown County for sentencing on March 2nd.