Bothell man convicted nine times for DUI sentenced to five years in prison

P-I STAFF

A Bothell man convicted nine times for drunken driving was sentenced to five years in prison Friday in King County Superior Court.

Karl Solid, 45, last September became the first person in the county to be charged under a law that makes a fifth DUI conviction in 10 years a felony. The law took effect in July 2007.

Solid received the maximum sentence allowed under the law for a class C felony. Had the Legislature made the crime a class B felony, Solid could have been sentenced for more than six years because of his lengthy criminal history, a county prosecutor's spokesman said.

Solid's blood-alcohol level measured 0.28 percent, more than triple the legal limit, after a Washington State Patrol trooper observed him swerving in and out of his lane on state Route 522 near Bothell.

The DUI conviction on July 2 was Solid's ninth since 1991. Though he was the first person in the county charged under the new law, he was the second convicted.

Solid also pleaded guilty to driving with a suspended license last September. Judge Pro Tem Anthony Wartnik could have added one more year to Solid's sentence for that crime, but deferred action until Solid finishes serving his DUI sentence, in hopes it will prod the man to adhere to his probation requirements.