One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
From the Scary Driver Files: Man With 13 DUIs Gets 6 Years in Prison
Photo by jcjgphotography via Shutterstock
"13" was an unlucky number for an Orange County resident who has been sentenced to six years in prison for his decades of drunk-driving.Dennis Patrick Malavasi, 55, of Huntington Beach got a string of DUIs dating back to the 1970s (fortunately, he never hurt or injured anyone), according to the Orange County Register. After his 12th DUI, Malavasi didn't get any DUIs for nearly 10 years. If he had made it to the 10-year mark, all of those other DUIs wouldn't have factored into his sentencing. But he didn't and so they did.
In 2010, he got caught sipping malt liquor while he was behind the wheel. The judge was willing to give him a second chance and put him on probation, if he went through a rehab program at the Salvation Army. He flaked on the program and ended up back in court. Now Malavasi will be going to prison, and if he's on his best behavior, he could be back out on the streets in a year-and-a-half.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
