Texas man sentenced to life in prison after his 6th DWI

Texas man gets life sentence for multiple DWIs

A Comal County man has been sentenced to life in prison, after pleading guilty to his sixth DWI.

NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas - A Comal County man has been sentenced to life in prison, after pleading guilty to his sixth DWI.

A jury handed down that sentence in October to 71-year-old Joseph Haren.

In September 2022, New Braunfels police received three 911 calls about Haren tailgating vehicles on I-35, even rear-ending one, leaving behind his license plate.

"To me as a prosecutor, that tells me there were more than those three people that were concerned," said Comal County Assistant Criminal District Attorney Karlei Neufeld.

Surveillance video then showed Haren crashing into a dumpster enclosure at a storage facility on Ranch Parkway, knocking the gate off, before driving recklessly into the nearby Torrey Place Apartments.

Man charged with 7 DWIs out on bond

Two families are frustrated with the justice system in Travis County. The man they said was drinking, driving, and who killed their children is out on bond. The same man, Roberto Rangel, has been charged with six DWI’s in the past.

"And in that complex, his car is undrivable," said Comal County Assistant Criminal District Attorney Jennifer Feldman. "He's standing next to his car and that's when they make contact with him."

Haren admitted to police he had been drinking by the river earlier in the day, before giving a blood test, which revealed his alcohol level was .23, nearly three times the legal limit. He was even too drunk to do a sobriety test.

Prosecutors quickly realized this arrest was part of a decades-long pattern. Haren has five previous DWI convictions, all in Texas, in 1986, 1993, 2001, 2007 and 2017. He was on parole for the 2017 arrest when he was arrested in 2022, with a valid license.

Joseph Haren, 71

"We had prior offenses where he was boating while intoxicated when he was driving a motorcycle and sideswiped vehicles, driving vehicles," said Neufeld.

It was that collective history that led prosecutors to seek life in prison, which they had done in Comal County before. After Haren pleaded guilty, a jury quickly handed down that sentence this October. He’ll be eligible for parole when he’s 101.

21 people serving life in prison for DWI

More than 4,000 people are incarcerated in Texas for driving while intoxicated. Of those, 21 are serving a life sentence. CrimeWatch reporter Meredith Aldis has the story.

"In my work with many victims, many victims have lost family members and loved ones to impaired drivers. And so if you ask them, I think that they would say that, of course, a life sentence would be suitable in a situation when we're looking at a habitual DWI offender. Because these crimes are violent crimes," said Natalie Paulus, the Texas Regional Director of Victim Services with Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

But speaking with FOX 7 last year, Betty Blackwell, a defense attorney based in Austin, questions whether life sentences for DWI are fair.

"I’ve heard many times people say it’s just like holding a loaded gun. It’s very dangerous, it’s very irritating, it’s very irresponsible. But we look at our statues of holding a gun while you’re drunk, that’s always a misdemeanor," said Blackwell.

She says technology can help prevent drunk drivers from getting behind the wheel.

But prosecutors in Haren’s case argue that after five chances, life behind bars was the best decision, for the safety of everyone else.

"I didn’t see anything stopping him," said Feldman.

FOX 7 reached out to Haren’s attorney, but as of Wednesday, Nov. 13, we have not heard back.

If you’ve been impacted by a DWI-related crash, call the MADD 24/7 Victim Helpline at 1-877-623-3434 or visit Madd.org/Texas.