Appeals court upholds 25-year DUI conviction

Special to The News-Star
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The Second Circuit Court of Appeal in Shreveport has upheld the 25-year sentence a Lincoln Parish resident received for his fourth driving while intoxicated conviction.

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The Second Circuit, in its Feb. 28 ruling, stated that then Third District Court Judge Jay McCallum’s sentence against Coty Scott Traylor, 41, was not constitutionally excessive noting that Traylor had a 20-year history of driving while intoxicated and had previously performed poorly during his probation.

A 12-member jury found Traylor guilty in his trial held in Ruston in April 2017. Assistant District Attorney Laurie James prosecuted the case and Traylor was represented by Dwayne Burrell.

Evidence presented at trial revealed that Traylor, who was 39 at the time, was stopped on April 9, 2016 by Ruston police officers Jessie Dylan Castaneda and Hannah Laborde. The officers at about 10:30 p.m. observed Traylor and another man walk to a pickup in a Ruston parking lot and urinate in front of the vehicle.

Testimony showed the men then entered the truck with Traylor getting into the driver's seat. Moments later, the officers observed the truck's engine start and the brake lights come on.  At that point, Castaneda and Laborde pulled up next to the truck and asked Traylor to exit the vehicle. On the scene, Traylor admitted to consuming alcohol but said he had called a cab and was waiting in his truck for it to arrive.

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Traylor submitted to field sobriety tests and performed poorly. He was then arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated and was taken to the Lincoln Parish Detention Center. Traylor submitted to an Intoxilizer 5000 exam that indicated he had a blood alcohol concentration of .276 percent. Evidence presented at trial also indicated Traylor had three prior DWI convictions.

McCallum sentenced Traylor to serve 25 years at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. 

On appeal, Traylor's attorney Peggy Sullivan of Monroe argued, among other assertions, that the prosecution had not proven at trial that Traylor operated the vehicle and that Traylor's act of starting the engine and applying the brake was insufficient evidence of operation. Additionally, Traylor argued that his sentence was excessive.  Assistant District Attorney Tracy Houck represented the state on appeal and argued the evidence was sufficient and the sentence appropriate given Traylor's history of DWI convictions.   

Writing for the unanimous Second Circuit panel, Judge Felicia Williams held that Traylor's actions did constitute operation of the vehicle and that the jury had reasonably rejected Traylor's self-serving statement that he was sitting in his truck waiting for a cab.

District Attorney John Belton commended the Ruston officers for their attentiveness and commitment to duty on the night in question.

“This is a good example how our law enforcement officers help keep us safe. We all owe law enforcement a debt of gratitude," Belton said.

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