Vt. man imprisoned nearly 20 years for drunken driving death charged again soon after release

Repeat DUI offender held without bail in Vermont

ST. ALBANS, Vt. — The seventh time he was convicted of drunken driving, it was for killing a 20-year-old man in a head-on crash. But even 19 years in prison couldn’t cure Douglas A. Gardner.

Barely a month after being released, the Vermont man was charged with driving drunk again — this time after crashing a stolen car down an embankment Saturday. His blood-alcohol content was .15, nearly twice the legal limit for drivers, police said.

“Your drinking is one issue,” Vermont District Court Judge Gregory Rainville told him Monday, before ordering him held without bail. “The fact that you drink and get behind the wheel of a car makes it that much worse.”

Gardner, 54, of Highgate, whose criminal record includes convictions for grand larceny, escape, burglary, false impersonation and breaking and entering, was convicted of drunk driving in 1976, 1977, 1983, twice in 1985, 1989 and 1991.

The last conviction stemmed from an April 23, 1990 wreck in which Gardner crashed a stolen pickup truck into a vehicle being driven by Billy LaBier III. LaBier, of Enosburg, was a former Johnson State College student on his way to work at an auto parts store.

Gardner, who was facing his seventh DUI charge for an incident two weeks before that, was convicted in LaBier’s death and lost his driving privileges for life under a sentence that called for to up to 30 years in prison. He served nearly 20 before being released April 14.

It’s unclear whether Gardner took advantage of substance abuse counseling while in prison. State Corrections Commissioner Andy Pallito said that information was confidential.

On Saturday, police called to the site of a one-car crash on Vermont 78 in Highgate found Gardner stumbling, smelling of alcohol and with bloodshot eyes.

He was charged with drunken driving, driving a vehicle without the owner’s consent and driving with a suspended license. The car belonged to relatives and was sitting in a yard, for sale, when Gardner took it, according to an affidavit filed by Trooper Jacob Metayer.

Defense attorney Steve Dunham, who entered not guilty pleas on all three charges Monday, declined comment after the arraignment.

With 12 felony convictions to his name, Gardner could get life in prison if convicted on the latest charges.

“He’s got a disease and he needs help,” said Wendy Young, his niece.

“He don’t need jail, he needs help,” said his brother, Arnold Gardner, outside court.

Among those on hand for Gardner’s court appearance was Pat LaBier-Boucher, 62, of Enosburg, the mother of Billy Labier III. LaBier-Boucher, a member of the Vermont Parole Board, said he needs prison to keep the public safe.

“It’s like reliving 20 years ago, all over again,” she said in the hallway. “Who gets locked away and you’re out 31 days and you steal a vehicle and drive drunk again?”