Second drinking violation earns 30-day jail stay

A 42-year-old Gardnerville woman was sentenced to 30 days in Douglas County Jail on Wednesday for her second probation violation after she was arrested at home with an alcohol content more than four times the limit.

Senior Judge Steven R. McMorris ordered Jennifer Lynn Pearce to enter in-patient alcohol treatment as soon as she is released from jail.

She was taken into custody on Sunday after probation officials paid a visit to her residence and determined she had been drinking. Her blood-alcohol content was .37, more than four times the legal limit of .08.

Pearce originally was arrested June 5, 2009, for driving under the influence with five 11- and 12-year-old passengers in her vehicle. Her blood-alcohol content was .20. She pleaded guilty to DUI and contributing to the neglect of a child.

She was sentenced to two 180-day sentences in Douglas County Jail to be served concurrently. The jail time was suspended, and Pearce was placed on two years probation.

Pearce was arrested in September 2009 after she called deputies to report she had been drinking at home. At that time, her blood-alcohol content was .328. She served 10 days in jail.

Pearce's lawyer, Derrick Lopez, said his client had been sober since the September 2009 arrest.

He said she was celebrating her birthday last weekend and her children weren't home. He said she was asleep when probation officers arrived.

Lopez said another test determined her blood-alcohol content to be .27.

He said her family was willing to place Pearce in residential alcohol treatment.

Prosecutor Erik Levin asked that McMorris impose Pearce's 170-day suspended sentence.

"She drove five kids under 12 around in a car with a .21. Now, while she's on supervision, she tests 50 percent higher. Clearly, she represents a danger to those around her. And, she was abusive to law enforcement officers," Levin said.

McMorris said the sentence needed to convey the severity of Pearce's violation and her alcohol problem.

"You came very close to going to jail for 180 days," McMorris said.

He reinstated her probation and ordered her to go to inpatient treatment as soon as she is released from custody.

McMorris set a review for Oct. 22.