Serial drink driver, 34, gets ENORMOUS prison sentence after being caught drunk behind wheel for fifth time

By NATASHA ANDERSON, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 16:10, 27 July 2026 | Updated: 16:19, 27 July 2026 A serial drunk driver has been sentenced to 50 years behind bars after he was caught driving under the influence for the fifth time. A Texas jury last week found Eugenio Les Zavala, 34, guilty of driving drunk in Montgomery County on February 17, 2025, according to court records obtained by the Daily Mail. Zavala was arrested and charged last year following a traffic stop conducted by Montgomery County Sheriff's deputies, the district attorney's office said. During the investigation, Zavala refused to exit his vehicle, became 'argumentative,' and 'physically resisted' officers. His eyes were glossy, speech was slurred, and his breath smelled of alcohol, deputies reported. Investigators also found two beers inside his vehicle. Zavala, who was alone in the vehicle, refused to be breathalyzed, undergo a field sobriety test, or participate in a blood draw to calculate his blood alcohol concentration (BAC), prosecutors said. A search warrant was issued for the blood test, which prosecutors say revealed that Zavala had a BAC of 0.15 - nearly twice the legal limit. Prosecutors told the court how this was Zavala's fifth DWI offense, which they alleged proved he was a habitual felony offender, court records show. Eugenio Les Zavala, 34, was found guilty of driving drunk in Montgomery County on February 17, 2025 by a Texas jury last week The jury, which heard how this was Zavala's fifth DWI offense, sentenced him to 50 years behind bars. He is currently being held at the Montgomery County Jail Zavala was arrested for drunk driving in nearby Harris County, Texas in 2012, 2016, 2018 and 2023, the jury heard. During his two-day trial last week, prosecutors urged the jury to consider his prior felony convictions when determining his sentence. 'When someone repeatedly chooses to endanger others, our responsibility is clear: act decisively before another family pays the price,' District Attorney Mike Holley said of Zavala's offenses. He argued that the 34-year-old was a continued threat to public safety. Under Texas penal code, punishment for a habitual offender with two prior sequential felony convictions can range from 25 years to life imprisonment. The jury convicted Zavala, who pled not guilty and opted to represent himself at trial, of a DWI on July 21 and set his punishment to 50 years in prison, according to a judgement of conviction filing. 'Five DWI convictions tell a story. At some point, repeated chances become repeated choices,' Assistant District Attorney James Roberts said in light of the sentencing. 'The jury recognized that this pattern endangered everyone who shares our roads, and their verdict reflects the seriousness of that risk.' His sentence was handed down by the Judge Keith Stewart, left, on July 21, 2026, after a two-day trial. District Attorney Mike Holley, right, said after Zavala's conviction that 'justice is measured not only by the cases we prosecute, but by the lives we help protect' Holley added: 'Justice is measured not only by the cases we prosecute, but by the lives we help protect.' Zavala's two-day trial concluded with his sentence being handed down by Judge Keith Stewart in the 221st District Court on July 21. He has now obtained an attorney and has now moved to appeal the conviction, court records showed. Robert Bartlett, representing Zavala, filed a written notice of appeal last Thursday. The convict, meanwhile, remains in custody at the Montgomery County Jail.