Trial delayed for repeat DUI offender accused of driving drunk again

PORT ANGELES — A repeat DUI offender who was stopped by a pair of Good Samaritans while allegedly driving drunk in June has a new trial date.

John Richard Schaack, 43, of Port Angeles had his trial reset Friday from Aug. 12 to Sept. 16, court papers said. He remained in the Clallam County jail Tuesday on $125,000 bail.

Schaack is charged in Clallam County Superior Court with felony driving under the influence of alcohol, second-degree driving with a suspended license, operating a motor vehicle without a functioning ignition interlock device and hit and run of an attended vehicle.

Schaack is charged with a felony DUI because he has had more than three DUI convictions within 10 years, charging papers said.

Port Angeles police alleged that Schaack was driving four times over the legal limit for alcohol when he collided with two vehicles in west Port Angeles on June 19.

Police said the victim drivers used their vehicles to box in the Chevrolet Suburban that Schaack was driving on the 1900 block of West 18th Street.

Schaack provided two breath samples that registered blood alcohol levels of 0.314 percent and 0.322 percent after his arrest, Officer JJ Smith wrote in the affidavit for probable cause.

The legal limit for driving in Washington is 0.08 percent.

The Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has made a plea offer in the case, court papers said.

Defense attorney Charlie Commeree of Clallam Public Defender and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Steve Johnson had not reached an agreement on Schaack’s offender score as of Friday, according to the minutes of the court hearing.

Johnson filed a document with the court July 11 that showed Schaack had six DUI convictions since 2000 in Washington and California and three DUI convictions since 2010.

Schaack’s most recent DUI convictions were in Clallam, Kitsap and San Bernardino, Calif., counties, Johnson said.

According to the state’s understanding of Schaack’s criminal history, another DUI conviction would result in a 53- to 70-month prison sentence plus one year of community custody.

A resolve or reset hearing was scheduled for Aug. 23.

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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsula dailynews.com.

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