Poland man will go to jail for 68 suspensions of license

A 33-year-old Poland man, whose Indiana driver's license has been suspended 68 times, will spend 20 days in jail following his latest indiscretion.

Putnam Superior Court Judge Denny Bridges has sentenced Dustin J. Wheeler to one year in the Putnam County Jail, suspending all but 20 days of his sentence (with the balance of his time to be on informal probation).

Coincidentally, his conviction also resulted in another license suspension, this time for 90 days.

Wheeler, who will begin his incarceration March 20, pleaded guilty Wednesday to the Class A misdemeanor charge of driving with a suspended license.

That charge stems from a Dec. 3, 2013 case, while the defendant's driving record and list of suspensions goes back almost 15 years to the day he appeared in court -- March 16, 2000. That's when Wheeler was first suspended for failure to appear for a driver safety program in Johnson County.

Records show his first citation was a seatbelt violation issued Aug. 2, 1999 in Greenwood.

For the past 16 years, Wheeler's driving record is strewn with minor offenses such as seatbelt violations, speeding, disregarding a stopsign, disregarding a traffic signal and even failure to use a proper signal.

As those citations mounted up, they gave rise to numerous counts of driving with a suspended license and failure to provide proof of insurance and beget even further suspensions.

"I was a state trooper for 27 years," an incredulous Judge Denny Bridges said, "and I've never seen someone with 68 suspensions."

Wheeler falls short of being a habitual traffic offender -- and perhaps having his license suspended for life -- because his indiscretions have been relatively minor. There are no reckless driving counts or operating while intoxicated charges on his record.

Meanwhile, he also routinely has failed to pay his fines and owes total reinstatement fees of $1,875, court records show.

"He hasn't paid and he hasn't paid," Putnam County Prosecutor Tim Bookwalter told the Banner Graphic, noting that a state law went into effect July 1 designed to keep traffic offenders out of jail or prison.

"They (legislators) thought we've been too hard on them," the prosecutor added. "But you've got someone with 68 suspensions, and they're taking away our ability to lock them up? You think he's just going to get better?

"If you're looking for someone to blame for this," Bookwalter concluded, "blame your legislator."