Guilty verdict in DUI case

Stanley William Havens testifies in his own defense at his DUI trail Monday. Havens was found guilty for his third offense of the crime by a Putnam County jury.

A Putnam County jury has found a Sparta man guilty of his third offense of driving under the influence.

Stanley William Havens, 64, was convicted Monday of DUI, DUI per se, and third offense DUI after an all-day trial. Havens was stopped by the Tennessee Highway Patrol on Oct. 30, 2021. His blood alcohol content was later found to be .188%, over twice the legal limit.

During the trial, the prosecution, led by Assistant District Attorney Rachel Bateman, showed a redacted dash camera video of Havens' arrest by THP Trooper Dylan Culver. At trial, Culver said he initiated the traffic stop when he clocked Havens going 78 mph in a 55 mph zone at 3:16 a.m. Culver claimed as he pursued Havens, he began noticing signs the driver may have been impaired, including a failure to maintain lanes. Culver also said there were physical signs as well.

"I noticed the slurred speech and the smell of alcohol," Culver said.

On the video, Havens first admits to having one or two drinks while he was bowling earlier in the evening of Oct. 29; however, he later said he had two or three drinks at the Bar on the Green in Cookeville. After failing two field sobriety tests, a walk-and-turn test and a one-leg test, Havens admitted to Culver that he was feeling slightly intoxicated.

"I'm not going to lie to you, I got a buzz," Havens said in the video.

In the redacted video, Havens also could not correctly identify what time it was when Culver stopped his vehicle. Havens later said he believed it was 11 p.m. Culver testified he decided to make the arrest due to the totality of the circumstances.

"How he was driving, slow to pull over, smell and how he performed on the tests," Culver said.

Havens' defense counsel, Cookeville attorney John Nisbet, made several objections to the 13-minute redacted video. He said it did not tell the entire story that is contained in the full 50-minute video. In his opening statement, Nisbet articulated his concerns.

"Pay attention to what the state doesn't show," Nisbet said. "You will hear exactly the little bit they want you to hear."

One particular point of contention was the full video included another test, a Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test, which Havens also failed.

Bateman answered Nisbet's objection by saying the HGN test has been shown to be inadmissible. She also said the full video saw Havens make references to two prior DUIs, one on March 5, 2014, in White County and one on July 13, 2017, in Putnam County.

Circuit Court Judge Caroline Knight, overruling Nisbet objections, reiterated a pre-trial ruling that the redacted video was allowed because parts of the full video were inadmissible during the first part of Monday's trial, but she did say Nisbet could ask Culver questions about small inconsistencies in the videos and if there had been any other tests administered during cross examination.

The jury also heard from Jaqueya Ogilvie, a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation forensic toxicologist. She testified that she tested Havens' blood sample that returned at .188% of ethanol alcohol.

"For an individual to reach that blood alcohol content, it would take anywhere from 8 to 10 drinks," Ogilvie said.

Havens later testified in his own defense. During his testimony, he said he was currently suffering from health issues related to black mold, which he discovered shortly after his 2021 arrest. Nisbet inferred the health issues may have caused the poor performance on the sobriety tests.

Havens said he believed he left Bar on the Green around 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 29, 2021, but he was unable to account for the missing time leading up to his 3:16 a.m. traffic stop.

"I have no idea," Havens said. "I was always home around 11 o'clock."

On Bateman's cross-examination, Havens testified it was normal for him to go to Bar on the Green following his weekly bowling but he seldom had more than two drinks.

"You drove home even though you felt buzzed?" Bateman asked.

"Yes," Havens said.

It took the jury almost 40 minutes to reach a guilty verdict on the first two counts of Havens' indictment. After hearing more testimony from Culver on Havens' first two DUI convictions, the jury returned a guilty verdict in under 15 minutes, imposing a $10,000 fine for the third offense DUI.

A sentencing hearing and motion for new trial for Havens will be held in front of Knight on Oct. 31 at the Putnam County Justice Center.