Robert J. Vandyke's eighth alcohol-related offense cost a woman her life and cost him nearly five years in prison. Now, his ninth may put him behind bars for just as long.

At Provo's 4th District Court on Wednesday, Judge Claudia Laycock sentenced Vandyke to 0-5 years in the Utah State Prison for a felony DUI conviction. Laycock said Vandyke's crime was not that egregious as far as DUI cases go, but his long history of alcohol-related offenses led her to accede to a recommendation from Adult Probation and Parole that he be sentenced to prison.

"Based upon your history and also the fact that this happened very soon after your parole was completed, I don't feel that I have any other choice but to honor the recommendation made by Adult Probation and Parole," Laycock said.

Vandyke was convicted in April of a felony DUI charge. His arrest in September came just three months after he got off parole for a drunken wreck in which he killed a West Valley City woman and injured her 12-year-old daughter. The 2000 conviction for Michelle Bradley's death landed him in prison for nearly five years.

Deputy County Attorney Craig Johnson urged Laycock to send Vandyke to prison, calling him a threat to society.

"He continues to re-offend," Johnson said. "He doesn't learn his lesson, your honor."

Johnson said Vandyke has not taken responsibility for his actions and has adopted a "poor me" attitude toward the case. He cited the pre-sentencing report by AP&P, which said Vandyke had requested that prosecutors apologize for violating his constitutional rights because of his past.

Vandyke told Laycock that he felt he was being punished for his past, and criticized media coverage of his case.

"I'm a little confused about this whole situation. The word 'political football' comes to mind, and I feel like I'm being judged on my past, which maybe I deserve to be. But I do take full responsibility for the action of 2000, and I wake up with it every single day," he said. "I've seen a lot of media coverage on this. The media doesn't care about you and I. We're just the means to get their laundry detergent and soft drinks sold."

Vandyke said he has spoken to many people about his experiences in an attempt to influence them to avoid his mistakes. He has attended Alcoholics Anonymous, gone to church regularly and taught baseball to young people, he said.

Vandyke was arrested in September after a man at a sports park in Spanish Fork called police to report a possible drunk driver.

He said the man had slurred speech, smelled of alcohol and started an odd conversation with his 6-year-old son. Officers testified that he had bloodshot eyes, smelled of alcohol and had an unopened can of beer in his car.

He refused multiple sobriety tests. The arresting officer also testified that he did not observe Vandyke violate any traffic laws. Officer Matt Johnson said Vandyke's car weaved, but did not cross over into other lanes.

He said he got the report of the possible drunk driver and began following Vandyke, who pulled over before the officer turned on his overhead lights.

Vandyke and Shelden Carter, his attorney, argued that Vandyke was driving safely and was capable of operating a motor vehicle the night he was arrested.

Carter filed a motion asking Laycock to throw out the conviction, arguing there was no evidence before the jury that Vandyke was driving unsafely or was impaired. One witness, he said, even testified that Vandyke's driving appeared to be overly cautious when he left the sports park.

"The vehicle was being safely driven down the road. There's no criminal violations," Carter said. "The state has not met its burden of proof."

Laycock disagreed, and ruled in another matter that there were no issues that made it likely that Vandyke would be successful in an appeal of his conviction.

The judge said she is aware that Vandyke's case became a cause célîbre for the press, but said she has second-guessed all her decisions involving the case to ensure they were made for the right reasons.

"I have worked very hard to make sure my decisions have not been made based upon press coverage this case has received," Laycock said.

Johnson said he hoped Vandyke would serve the maximum five-year sentence, and said the prosecution plans to be present when his case goes before the board of pardons and parole, along with Bradley's family.

• Jeremy Duda can be reached at 344-2561 or jduda@heraldextra.com.