A Delhi man will be spending more than two years in state prison for a felony driving under the influence offense.

On Feb. 7, Christopher Leroy Baker, 28 of Delhi entered a no contest plea to felony driving under the influence and admitted his three prior driving under the influence convictions. Baker also admitted he was convicted in 2010 of participating in a criminal street gang, which qualified as a “strike” under California’s “Three Strikes Law.”

On Sept. 4, 2016, a Modesto Police officer stopped Baker for a traffic violation and noticed Baker smelled of alcohol. Baker admitted he had been drinking and failed several field sobriety tests. A chemical test showed his blood alcohol content to be 0.24 percent, three times the legal limit of .08 percent.

Baker had previously been convicted of misdemeanor driving under the influence three times, elevating this fourth offense to a felony crime.

On March 8, Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Ricardo Cordova sentenced Baker to 32 months in state prison. Baker received sixteen months in prison which was then doubled for having the “strike” crime prior.

Deputy District Attorney Bianca Yip prosecuted the case for the People. Her position is funded by a grant provided by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.