Repeat drunk driver saw jail as ‘free vacation;' then an opportunity came in Bernalillo County

Yahoo

2 days ago

BERNALILLO COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) – In Bernalillo County, repeat drunk drivers can avoid time behind bars if they successfully participate in the DWI Court program. It's a deal Jennifer Whitey received after her eighth drunk driving arrest. KRQE Investigative Reporter Ann Pierret spent the past several years following Whitey through the program.
KRQE Investigates initially highlighted Whitey's multiple drunk driving arrests and dug into the details of her plea agreement, because when it came to her punishment, it appears Whitey got a break. While she admitted to five DWIs, Whitey only pleaded to four. By law, a fourth DWI offense conviction results in a mandatory six months in jail. But the prosecutor and judge agreed that if Whitey graduated from the DWI Court Program, she could serve that six-month sentence on house arrest with a GPS ankle monitor instead.
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'It was good. I want to thank you. Because without that video, me seeing it, um, that's what changed my whole perspective on myself,' Whitey told Pierret in June 2025. The story included lapel footage of Whitey's eighth drunk driving arrest, including her attempt to escape from deputies while being booked at the substation. 'That was not me,' Whitey said. 'That's just somebody that was crying for help, who needed help, and she didn't know how to ask for help.'
Whitey shared that she watched the story and read the community's comments posted on social media. Many believed Whitey already had too many chances and took to social media, calling her 'a waste of human life,' writing 'this makes me sick,' and demanding, 'lock her up and throw away the key.'
'I think they didn't judge me wrongly,' Whitey said. 'I think they kind of knew it, but they didn't know the whole story of why I was doing it.' The root of her alcoholism: 'I was raised, you know, poor on the reservation with an alcoholic mom as well,' she explained.
Whitey shared that she was 17 years old the first time she got caught drinking and driving. 'I have five children, but one is deceased. That was also part of the alcohol use,' Whitey, now 46 years old, said. 'I was a kid having a kid at the age of 15. So, I realized a lot of trauma, abuse, rape, kidnap, everything. I've been through it.'
That reflection is the point of the DWI Court Program. The Bernalillo County District Attorney's Office said program participants typically have a long history of substance abuse and are facing their fourth or higher offense.
'The easy answer is to simply say, 'here's the jail and I'm going to forget about you,'' Chief Deputy DA Joshua Boone said. 'What I have to think about is this: when that person gets out of jail, have we actually helped them or cured them from that addiction?'
Because, as Whitey admitted, jail has never been a deterrent. 'It was just more like a, like a free vacation in a way,' she explained. 'Then you just start where you left off until you get in trouble again.'
A short break from her addiction, but no real help. 'Nobody's listening, because most of the people will think, 'Oh, well, they're going to be back next week,'' Whitey said.'And my fear always is if they re-offend, are we going to end up in a tragic situation? Right. So, my hope with a lot of these individuals, and my goal, is to give them the tools so that we never get there,' Boone said.
He explained that's what the DWI Court Program provides. Off the bat, the defendant spends 30 days in treatment. Then, they must complete four phases and be sober for six months to move on to the next phase. So, the program can take two years or more.
Since it started in 2013, the court said only 3% of the 94 participants reoffended within three years of graduating.'It's a really great to see that change in individuals and, honestly, to never see them again,' Judge Britt Baca, who first started presiding over the program in 2021, said.
Throughout, participants attend counseling up to six days a week, can only drive with an interlock, meet weekly with a case manager, are subject to random drug testing, and stand in front of Judge Baca every two weeks for a case review.
'Both responsibility and honesty are extremely crucial to this program. Because if they are not honest, then that is usually seen as more of a violation than something where if they're struggling with their sobriety,' Baca explained.
The judge said violations can result in sanctions like writing an essay for being late, or the more severe consequence, house arrest with a GPS monitor through the Metropolitan Detention Center's Community Custody Program, CCP.During the 29 months Whitey spent in the program, she had ten hearings on violations. Judge Baca sanctioned her to CCP twice, for a total of 69 days. 'It's expected to have these hiccups. And that's what the program is for. That's what the support is for,' Whitey's defense attorney Jenna Purpura explained.
Whitey graduated in May. But, as Purpura pointed out, she is not free yet. 'Right now, she's technically in custody. She's on CCP, so it's not like she just did the program and —'
'Then I left,' Whitey cut in.
'It's very restrictive, what she can and can't do right now,' Purpura said.
Whitey is now under house arrest and on a GPS ankle monitor for six months. 'Once I'm done from work, I go, I go to my counseling, and then I go home. So, it's just, it's really strict,' Whitey explained. 'I have a tracker that's assigned to me, she knows my whereabouts, where I'm at, every day.'
It's attention and structure Whitey is grateful to finally have. 'I tell everybody, don't look at my gain. Look at my, look at my struggles. You know, listen to my story,' she said. 'I got my own life back.'
Judge Baca said the DWI Court Program typically has about thirty participants at a time. She added that they do not turn anyone away. But the judge believes at least two people have been let go before graduating.
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