DUI driver gets no leniency from Fresno judge: ‘You have been one of my best customers’
A Selma man with a lengthy criminal record was sentenced to five years in prison after he was convicted of driving under the influence of a drug and hitting an on-duty Kingsburg Fire captain.
During his sentencing hearing Thursday, Rory Dale Carlock, 54, apologized to Capt. Kevin Clark for slamming him into a utility pole on Dec. 8, 2020.
“In no way, shape or form did I have any intention of hurting anybody,” Carlock said. “It was a mistake that happened. I am very embarrassed and ashamed.”
Deputy District Attorney Emily Fernandez said Clark was surveying a gas leak at the intersection of 10th Avenue and Winter Street in Kingsburg when Carlock struck him with a car. Fernandez said Carlock’s vehicle was observed swerving on the road prior to hitting Clark.
Police said Clark was taking pictures of the area and standing on the sidewalk in full gear when Carlock drove up on the sidewalk and hit the captain.
“Due to the level of intoxication of methamphetamine in the defendant’s system, he crashed into the victim, launching him,” Fernandez said.
Clark was thrown into a utility pole and suffered injuries to his ankle, knee and eye, Fernandez said.
Carlock left the scene of the crash, but police found his car several days later abandoned and burned in a field.
Emily Takao, Carlock’s defense attorney, asked Judge James Kelley for leniency, saying her client was extremely remorseful.
The judge said that while he appreciated Carlock’s apology and his concern for the victim, his criminal behavior over the years is troubling. Carlock was out on parole for a previous drug charge at the time of the hit-and-run.
Kelley sentenced Carlock to a maximum of five years in state prison.
“I have been in this assignment for eight years and you have been one of my best customers,” Kelley said. “You are here with 17 prior felony convictions. And the term you are about to get is very fair.”
Carlock was originally charged with six felonies and two misdemeanors. As part of a plea agreement he pleaded no contest to one felony count of driving under the influence while causing injury.
