Canton Man Sentenced to Ten Years Without Parole for 4th Offense DUI
Madison and Rankin Counties’ District Attorney Bubba Bramlett announced today that Calvin F. Francis, 50, pled guilty and was sentenced to ten (10) years without the possibility of parole for Felony Driving Under the Influence 4th Offense as a non-violent habitual offender in Madison County Circuit Court.
On April 18, 2023, an officer with Madison Police Department made a traffic stop on a vehicle for careless driving and identified the driver as Calvin F. Francis. The officer smelled alcohol on Francis and asked him to step out of the vehicle when Francis advised that he had just been released from prison for a Felony DUI 3rd Offense in December of 2022. After conducting field sobriety tests and preliminary breath tests, Francis was taken into custody and transported to the Madison Police Department where he blew into the Intoxilyzer machine and registered a .13% which is above the legal blood alcohol content limit of .08%.
On February 24, 2024, an officer with Ridgeland Police Department made a traffic stop on Francis for careless driving. The officer smelled alcohol on Francis and after conducting field sobriety tests, Francis refused to blow in the machine. A search warrant was obtained for his blood. His BAC was .15% which is almost twice the legal limit.
Francis has remained in custody since his February 24, 2024 arrest. He has at least four prior DUI convictions including one for a felony DUI 3rd Offense in Madison County from 2018. He served five years for the DUI third offense.
Francis was indicted for two counts of Felony DUI 4th offense in April of 2024. He pleaded guilty to Felony DUI 4th offense as a non-violent habitual offender on August 28, 2024, and was sentenced to serve ten (10) years without the possibility of early release or parole.
District Attorney Bramlett stated, “Mr. Francis was given chance after chance to get sober. Or at least to quit driving while intoxicated. In Mississippi, if you are convicted of a third DUI within five years, it becomes a felony offense. If you are convicted of another it becomes a DUI 4th which is punishable by up to ten years imprisonment. He had already been to prison once for the third DUI offense. Within 14 months of his release from prison, he was stopped and charged with not one but two additional DUI offenses. He is a serious danger to the community, and it is a miracle he had not hurt or killed an innocent person. I want to thank both the Madison and Ridgeland Police Departments for always keeping an eye out for possibly impaired drivers and keeping the roadways of Madison County safe for all drivers.”
Defendant:
Name: Calvin F. Francis
DOB: 02/25/1974
