Jasper Co. commissioner going to jail

CARTHAGE, Mo. -- Jasper County's presiding commissioner will serve two days in jail starting Monday for driving while intoxicated.

Chuck Surface pleaded guilty Wednesday to drunken driving, a charge that stemmed from a July traffic stop in Joplin. His blood-alcohol content was 0.108, slightly above the state's legal limit of 0.08 to drive.

Surface's attorney, Charles Genisio, had asked for a sentence of community service, citing Surface's clean driving record and community involvement.

Associate Circuit Judge George Michael Dawson said he chose to give the jail time, or "shock detention," to "demonstrate the seriousness of driving while intoxicated."

As part of a plea deal, Surface will serve two years of unsupervised probation, and the DWI charge will be wiped from his record if he is not convicted of any other offense during that time.

Prosecutors had recommended a $300 fine, a 30-day suspended sentence and a year of probation. The conviction would remain on Surface's record permanently under a suspended sentence.

Eight days after Surface's July 28 arrest, he lost a re-election bid.