Williamson County, TX - A Williamson County judge has sentenced a 52-year-old man to life in prison after a jury found him guilty of driving while intoxicated for the ninth time.

Bobby Joe Stovall elected to have Judge Billy Ray Stubblefield assess his punishment and after hearing additional evidence, Judge Stubblefield decided to sentence Stovall to life in prison.

According to court documents, Stovall was driving his truck down East Palm Valley Blvd. in Round Rock on July 3, 2009 just after a Round Rock Express game had ended. Stovall crossed several lanes of traffic without yielding to oncoming traffic and hit another vehicle. A female passenger in Stovall's truck was injured and taken to the hospital. She had a blood alcohol level of .38.

Round Rock police gave Stovall a field sobriety test which he failed. During the test, police officers determined that Stovall had eight previous DWI convictions from Collin, Dewitt, Nueces, Galveston, Jackson and Goliad Counties. A blood sample was taken from Stovall. A subsequent test at the DPS Crime Laboratory showed that Stovall had a blood alcohol concentration of .32, four times the legal limit in Texas.

In addition to his DWI convictions Stovall had a lengthy criminal background, including a 1994 conviction of burglary of a habitation, a 1987 conviction of credit card abuse, a 1994 conviction of possession of a controlled substance, and numerous convictions of theft, driving while license was suspended and making alcohol available to a minor.Updated: Thursday, 12 Aug 2010, 2:40 PM CDT
Published : Wednesday, 11 Aug 2010, 10:59 AM CDT