A 41-year-old James City County man was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison after he pleaded guilty in July to drunken driving with his 9-year-old daughter in the car.
Vyron Eugene Tyler entered guilty pleas to felony child abuse and driving while intoxicated with a child in the car during a July hearing.
Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court Judge Michael McGinty suspended 4 years and 11 months of the sentence, leaving him with one month to serve, a requirement he has already met due to time he has spent in jail since his July pleas.
Tyler’s attorney, Leigh Major, said her client has had time to think about what he has done wrong. She said he watched a video recorded of him driving while intoxicated prior to the police officer pulling him over.
Major said Tyler’s drinking problem comes from when he witnessed a friend of his get shot to death when they were participating in an armed robbery, saying he was not able to ever properly process the grief associated with the event.
“He is a productive member of society other than when he has been drunk and behaved as poorly as he has behaved,” she said, asking McGinty to reduce the felony child abuse to a misdemeanor.
Williamsburg-James City County Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Joshua DeFord said the reduction to a misdemeanor was not appropriate, noting Tyler’s blood-alcohol content was 0.2 percent and he was weaving and speeding when the officer pulled him over.
McGinty warned Tyler he has the suspended time hanging over his head if he makes a mistake in the future.
Tyler was seen by James City County Police driving erratically on Pocahontas Trail just before 7 p.m. Feb. 7. He was pulled over at the entrance to Stonegate Apartments, where he was given a field sobriety test, according to Deputy Chief Stephen Rubino of the James City County Police Department.
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