Repeat DWI Offender Avoids Jail Time

Despite emotional statements from her victims and a flood of letters asking for harsher punishment, Charlotte DePersia of East Hamptonâ€"a repeat DWI offender who pleaded guilty after injuring two people in a car accident in November 2010â€"will not serve any jail time.

Appearing before Judge William Conden at the Arthur M. Cromarty Courthouse in Riverhead for her sentencing on Tuesday, Ms. DePersia, 58, was sentenced to 840 hours of community service, which will be served in lieu of six months of jail time, as punishment for the felony DWI charge connected with the crash.

She was also sentenced to five years of probation and must wear a mandated ankle device called a Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor, or SCRAM, at all times. Additionally, she must follow strict alcohol and narcotics provisions and have interlock devices installed on all of her vehicles. She will also pay at least $1,000 in fines and had her driver’s license revoked for a year.

Judge Conden warned Ms. DePersia that if she slips up in any way, she will be immediately sent to an upstate prison, where she will begin serving a term of 15 to 48 monthsâ€"a sentence originally requested by Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota for the DWI charge.

“You have no margin for error,” Judge Conden warned. “One dirty urine and you’re going upstate.”

Prior to being sentenced, Ms. DePersia, who has been undergoing counseling for a year, apologized tearfully to her victims.

“I am so horrified with myself,” she said, adding that she takes complete responsibility for her actions. “I am deeply ashamed and I am so very sorry. I promise I will never do it again.”

Ms. DePersia was arrested on November 27, 2010, after she slammed her Land Rover into another car on Montauk Highway in Bridgehampton that was carrying four passengers: Lindsay Soyka and Matthew Gluck, who split their time between East Quogue and New York City, and their friends Karyn and Mark Sholack. Ms. Sholack was pregnant at the time and suffered a broken rib, while Ms. Soyka walked away with a broken nose. Their husbands were not injured.

At the time of the crash, Ms. DePersia was on probation for a 2009 DWI.

Ms. DePersia later pleaded guilty to all of the charges in the indictment from the 2010 accident, including felony DWI, vehicular assault, crossing the median and possession of an alcoholic beverage in a motor vehicle, according to authorities. A Starbucks cup filled with red wine was found in her vehicle.

All four victims attended Tuesday’s sentencing, and Ms. Sholack brought her babyâ€"5-month-old Henryâ€"to the courtroom. Prior to the sentencing, all victims read statements describing the pain and anguish they have experienced due to the accident.

“This is a disgrace,” Mr. Gluck said afterward. “Justice was not served.”