COMAL COUNTY, Texas – A Comal county the man was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to his sixth DWI.

A jury handed down that sentence in October to Joseph Haren, 71, after he hit a car and a dumpster in 2022 with a blood alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit.

However, this was just the latest in a string of DWIs for Haren throughout Texas that spans nearly 40 years.

FOX 7 Austin’s John Krinjak spoke with the case’s prosecutors, ADA Karlei Neufeld and Jennifer Feldman about why they believe that in this case, the punishment fits the crime.

JOHN KRINJAK: What happened in that case?

JENNIFER FELDMAN: So the defendant, Mr. Haren, was driving early in the evening and following several people. The defendant enters a storage unit and hits a dumpster, then continues to drive away. As the police investigate this, they discover that another person called 911, where the defendant hit the other person and left his license plate, the front license plate on the bumper, when the police found- and dragged her to an apartment complex. And in that complex, his car cannot be driven. He’s standing next to his car. And then they contact him and start their investigation.

JOHN KRINJAK: What is your reaction when you see that video?

KARLEI NEUFELD: Again, I’m just thinking how different it would have been if it had hit another vehicle rather than a dumpster.

JENNIFER FELDMAN: Dangerous to the community. It is so dangerous. It’s a DWI is a crime that doesn’t know who it’s going to get. Correct. And thank God no one was seriously injured by his driving that day.

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JOHN KRINJAK: What stood out to you when you heard about this case and what happened?

KARLEI NEUFELD: But what really stood out was the defendant’s criminal record. So he had five previous convictions. And the fact that this defendant had committed crimes in multiple counties, he was driving drunk in Bexar County, Guadalupe County, Comal County, Potter County. I have previous convictions for boating while intoxicated while operating a motorcycle and side damaged vehicles driving vehicles. And when you look at it together, this is not just a habitual or repeat offender. This is someone who commits crimes in a variety of different ways.

JENNIFER FELDMAN: This would be Mr. Haren’s sixth DWI. He was in prison several times. His last sentence prior to this was 25 years, for which he was on parole at the time of this offence. So when I look at this case and decide what we should do with this case, what I’m looking for is what will keep the community safe and bring justice to the people of Comal County.

JOHN KRINJAK: What made it clear to you that a life sentence was the way to go? Well, us.

KARLEI NEUFELD: Indeed, we have spent a lot of time talking about what is appropriate. Do we want to claim a life on this case? But we often think about what is the most dangerous crime. And our minds often go to murder or sexual assault when the reality is. And those types of cases, while extremely heinous, are cases that we need to take seriously. Often there is only one victim, maybe two victims. But what’s really more dangerous than someone flying down the highway, highly intoxicated the entire way, when we have parents just taking their kids to soccer practice or just driving home from work. There are so many people who could be the innocent victims of a drunk driver, and that really adds to the dangerous nature of this crime.

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JOHN KRINJAK: What would you say to someone who argues, you know, that there are other violent crimes that don’t have severe punishment that say this is too harsh?

JENNIFER FELDMAN: Well, it’s not just one. You can’t just look at the name of the crime. Correct. We have to look at the past history, at the history that Mr. Haren had. And we had 12 members of the community look at that right there, okay, here we have a DWI, that we generally would like to get treatment, get help. But the fact that he continued to do it, what is the best way to ensure people’s safety? And so I thought.

KARLEI NEUFELD: He was offered the opportunity to undergo treatment. He was asked to complete the treatment. And when you have someone who’s done treatment after treatment, but keeps going out and doing it again, we’re dealing with a bigger problem. And unfortunately, in this case, past treatment didn’t work for him.

JOHN KRINJAK: What message do you hope the audience takes from this?

JENNIFER FELDMAN: I hope they realize it’s so easy to call Uber, Lyft a friend. It’s so easy now to take a walk somewhere.

KARLEI NEUFELD: Taking that step to get into your vehicle, get behind the wheel and drive on our roads while heavily intoxicated is something that is not acceptable in Comal.

Joseph Haren will be eligible for parole when he turns 101. FOX 7 Austin reached out to his attorney, but has not heard back.