BUCKHANNON – An Upshur County man was recently arrested for not possessing a valid driver’s license due to prior DUI offenses after being pulled over on a traffic stop.
Ronald R. Chastine, 37, of Buckhannon, was arrested for driving while license revoked for DUI, third or subsequent offense, a felony.
According to the criminal complaint in the Upshur County Magistrate Clerk’s Office filed by Patrolman James Fisher with the Buckhannon Police Department, on July 12, 2023, Fisher observed a blue-colored SUV traveling west at a high rate of speed on Liggett Addition.
Fisher caught up to the vehicle and saw an expired West Virginia registration from May 2022. Fisher initiated a traffic stop on Liggett Addition, and the car stopped on Uppercut Street. The driver identified himself as Chastine.
After checking Chastine’s driver status, police discovered he had an active DUI suspension with an effective date of May 8, 2006. Chastine had three other driving while revoked for driving under the influence charges with no contest pleas dated July 18, 2006; Sept. 28, 2006; and Jan. 11, 2007.
Upshur County Magistrate Alan Suder set bail at $25,000 cash or surety.
The penalty for a conviction of driving while license revoked for DUI is confinement in a state penitentiary for not less than one year nor more than three years, and in addition to the mandatory prison sentence, a fine ranging between $3,000 and $5,000.
