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Northern California Man Gets 6 Month Jail Sentence For 19th DUI

SANTA ROSA (AP) — A Northern California man with 19 drunken driving convictions has avoided a prison term, but will be spending some time in jail.

William Rylan Beall, who has a record of drunken driving convictions dating back 44 years, was sentenced to six months in jail Thursday for his latest offense.

The Press Democrat reports the 65-year-old Santa Rosa man was sentenced to jail even though prosecutors were seeking a prison term of two years.

The newspaper says a pre-sentencing report shows that Beall has a record of alcohol-related driving convictions dating back to 1966.

The report shows he was convicted of drunken driving seven times in the 1970s, five times in the 1980s, four times in the 1990s and in 2002.

In sentencing him to the shorter sentence, visiting Alameda County Judge Julie Conger noted that Beall had been sober for eight years until the most recent incident.

(© Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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