Judge begins 30-day sentence for second DUI conviction
Feb 27, 2014, 1:34 PM | Updated: 2:41 pm
A longtime municipal court judge who was twice arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol was booked into jail this week to begin serving a 30-day sentence for his second conviction.
Judge John V. Lyman, 69, pleaded guilty to DUI in January and was ordered to report to jail by February 24. He was booked into the Thurston County Jail on Tuesday, records show.
Lyman served as a municipal court judge in Tumwater and Tenino until his retirement in March 2013. His 34-year career behind the bench was blemished by two drunken driving arrests that happened just a few years apart.
In September 2010, Lyman was arrested at his home in Olympia for driving under the influence of alcohol and misdemeanor hit-and-run after he crashed into a parked car at the Tumwater Valley Golf Club and then hit a vehicle stopped at a red light, according to court records.
Samples showed his blood alcohol level at the time of arrest was .135 and .145, well above the legal limit of .08.
Prosecutors granted Lyman a deferred prosecution in the case, meaning the charges would be dismissed if he completed two years of outpatient treatment, three years of probation, and avoided another arrest.
Lyman continued to serve in his capacity as a municipal court judge.
In April 2013, Lyman was arrested a second time for driving under the influence of alcohol and hit-and-run after he crashed his vehicle into a ditch east of Olympia on Yelm Highway, the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office said at the time.
His blood alcohol level at the time of arrest was .136 and .141.
Lyman was still on probation, and thus his arrest violated the terms of his deferred prosecution.
On June 19, 2013, the court revoked the deferred prosecution and ordered him to spend three days in jail and pay a $590.50 fine.
Following the completion of his current 30-day sentence, Lyman will be required to serve 105 days of electronic home monitoring and five years of supervised release, according to court documents. He has also been ordered to pay a $1,195.50 fine and install an ignition interlock device.
