Clovis man sentenced to 12 years

CLOVIS - A Clovis man found guilty last year of his eighth intoxicated driving offense was sentenced Tuesday to the maximum of 12 years in the Department of Corrections.

Randall Pruit, 55, apologized to the court and asked repeatedly for mercy from Judge Fred Van Soelen. He said he's "not the same guy" he was in years past, referring to the judge's enumeration of seven previous DWI convictions between 1990 and 2009.

"You've seen me around town, sir, I've gone to shake your hand," said Pruit, who in 2013 started a facility for recently incarcerated men. "I gave all my money to the halfway house, trying to help people coming out."

Van Soelen said he was well aware of the "God Loves Underdogs Factory" and that he hoped Pruit could one day "return to (his) efforts to help people with substance abuse." The judge's priority Tuesday, however, was in addressing Pruit's "terrible, terrible problem with alcohol" and maintaining community safety.

"DWI is one of those crimes where you don't have to be a bad person to commit it," said Van Soelen. "I'm not sentencing you, Mr. Pruit, for being a bad person. I'm sentencing you as being a threat to society, to yourself, to others."

Pruit did not head the GLU Factory at the time of his DWI arrest on Oct. 21, 2017, for which he was acquitted following a trial. A more recent arrest on Dec. 31, 2017, however, resulted in a jury conviction just under a year later. Prosecutors said Pruit drove intoxicated into his neighbor's parked car before entering his own home. Pruit and his attorney Michael Garrett disputed evidentiary issues from that case during Tuesday's hearing.

"If there are problems with this case, then it can be reviewed by a court higher than me," Van Soelen said while addressing Garrett's motions.

Garrett disputed the number of his client's previous convictions, pointing to inconsistencies in court tallies on plea agreement documents from years past. Van Soelen ultimately agreed with the state's documentation of Pruit's priors and said those didn't even account for cases that had been dismissed or gone wayside in past years.

Investigator Keith Bessette told the judge he had seen Pruit promise many times over the years not to offend again, only to lapse.

"He's a scourge on society and needs to get the maximum sentence," Bessette added.

James Pruit pushed back on those remarks and said his son "has the best heart of anyone I know."

With a little over a year already in jail and the potential for good-time credit, "you're looking at 5 1/2 to six years ... that you're not on the streets driving," Van Soelen told Randall Pruit during the 90-minute hearing in Curry County court.

By statute, Van Soelen was forbidden from a sentence of any less than 10 years for the eighth DWI conviction. Garrett and Pruit asked for that minimum, while Chief Deputy District Attorney Brian Stover asked for the maximum. He pointed out that people could have been "grievously injured" in the events behind the most recent conviction.

"The punishment for this is serious because it is a serious issue," Stover said.

According to a news release from the 9th Judicial District Attorney, "Pruit's driver's license will be revoked for life and upon release from prison he will serve two years on parole."