Repeat Drunk Driver Gets Maximum Sentence In Anne Arundel: Report

PASADENA, MD — A repeat drunk driver is heading to prison for 10 years, Anne Arundel County officials announced April 27. A jury found 58-year-old Todd Allen Beeker of Pasadena guilty in an alcohol-related crash that permanently injured a victim, an incident report noted.

The write-up added that this is the maximum sentence under a Maryland law that took effect Oct. 1, 2019. The legislation raised the penalty from three years to a decade in jail for drunk drivers with more than three prior convictions, the press release explained.

The report clarified that Beeker was previously convicted eight times on charges of driving under the influence. Beeker is the first Anne Arundel County defendant to get the new maximum sentence, the release advised. Beeker's term will start after he finishes a 10-year sentence in St. Mary's County on a separate DUI conviction, officials shared.

"A young man’s life is forever altered because of the defendant’s reckless and selfish decision to drive while intoxicated," Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess stated in the announcement. "[The victim] is now forced to live with permanent physical injuries, and the anguish and extreme financial stress that have followed."

Prosecutors informed that the crash happened on May 12, 2020 on Fort Smallwood Road at Elizabeth Road while the victim was heading home from his grandmother's funeral. The victim was driving north on Fort Smallwood Road when a southbound white Dodge Ram pickup truck crossed the double line and struck him head-on, officials indicated.

The write-up mentioned that medics took Beeker and the victim to the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. The collision severely injured the victim's right ankle and wrist, the prosecution alleged.

"I can’t maintain my career as an electrician because I can’t be on my feet long," the 29-year-old victim said in the release. "I can’t climb ladders or doing anything labor intensive. I can’t maintain my career to support the lifestyle that I worked so hard to build."

Officials identified Beeker as the driver of the Dodge. They also reported finding empty and full beer cans and a bottle of vodka in the truck. Prosecutors accused Beeker of having a blood alcohol concentration of .30, which they say is five times the legal limit.

"I can’t run or jog anymore," the victim concluded. "I have plans to have a family and kids of my own someday and to be able to enjoy sports with them meant the world to me. [The defendant] has single handedly taken that opportunity from me."

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