A San Antonio man has been sentenced to two 40-year prison terms after he was convicted of his sixth and seventh drunken-driving offenses.
A Comal County jury found Scott Christopher Helge, 53, guilty on a charge of driving while intoxicated with three or more convictions of the same type of offense. Helge also pleaded guilty to the same charge in an separate case, according to the Comal County District Attorney’s Office. The two 40-year sentences will be served at the same time.
Helge had previously been convicted of five drunken driving charges in Williamson, Travis, Harris and Brazos counties, according to the district attorney’s office. Three of those convictions were felonies.
Helge was arrested after a Jan, 16, 2022 traffic stop in New Braunfels after he was pulled over for speeding on a motorcycle and running a stop sign, according to the district attorney’s office.
“His speech was slurred and difficult to understand, he swayed and staggered while walking, and the officer detected a strong odor of alcohol,” according to the district attorney’s office. “After being placed under arrest, Helge became belligerent, resisted arrest and threatened officers, stating he would hurt them if his handcuffs were removed.”
According to a blood sample taken after the stop, Helge’s blood alcohol concentration was 0.125 grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood. The legal limit in Texas is 0.08 grams.
Helge’s second 40-year sentence involved a July 2020 incident in New Braunfels where, according to witnesses, Helge was “fighting with several women” and hit a parked vehicle while driving. According to a blood test, his blood alcohol concentration during that incident was 0.137 grams.