PROVO — He was convicted in July 1999 for alcohol-related reckless driving. In June, September and October of 2001, he was sanctioned three separate times for driving under the influence.
He served nearly five years in prison for killing a young mother and injuring her daughter in a traffic accident he caused while driving intoxicated in West Valley City in 2000. And on Tuesday, Robert J. Kent VanDyke was convicted again in 4th District Court of driving under the influence in Spanish Fork on Sept. 25, 2007.
"Mr. VanDyke is a guilty person," prosecutor Craig Johnson told the jury during closing arguments. "Do not set him free. Find him guilty."
Johnson presented testimony from citizens and police officers about VanDyke's intoxicated state the night in question — but only after the jury gave its verdict and was excused could Johnson present VanDyke's prior convictions to Judge Claudia Laycock.
Laycock reviewed the convictions and agreed the three prior felony convictions within the last 10 years allowed what would normally be a class B misdemeanor to the third-degree felony.
VanDyke will be sentenced May 28 at 8:30 a.m., after which time his defense attorney, Shelden Carter, said he plans to appeal the verdict.
"I'm disappointed," Carter said. "I thought the case was presented well and that we proved he was a safe and capable driver. I think we won on the facts and lost on emotion."
Family and friends of VanDyke were disappointed with the verdict.
"He never had a chance," his father, Bob VanDyke, said after the verdict. "There was no way to get a jury that would not know about this case."
Prospective jurors were interviewed by both attorneys, and seated jurors were warned repeatedly by Laycock that they were not to read newspapers, watch the news or talk to others about the case.
In both opening and closing arguments, Carter reminded the jury that this case was not about his client drinking alcohol, because he freely admitted VanDyke had, later telling media it was one beer.
But Laycock reminded the jury that drinking alcohol and driving a vehicle is not unlawful — it's only unlawful when the driver drinks enough to render him or her incapable of driving a motor vehicle.
For Johnson, it was a matter of putting the pieces together.
"Each puzzle piece standing by itself doesn't make Mr. VanDyke guilty," Johnson said. "Standing alone, his refusal to submit to a chemical test cannot support a conviction (but) that's one puzzle piece. The odor of alcohol ... slurred speech that many witnesses talked about ... goes to the overall picture (we're) trying to draw here — that he was under the influence to a degree he couldn't safely operate his vehicle."
Carter argued that while some people mentioned slurred speech, others didn't. Some smelled alcohol, some didn't. And nobody mentioned a concern with his driving.
"Regarding the driving, Heidi (Bird) only said he was overly cautious in a parking lot," Carter said. "But isn't that what we expect of people? I'm thankful Mr. VanDyke (was) overly cautious."
The Birds had been at the Spanish Fork sports complex for their son's soccer game.
They testified that VanDyke approached them and tried to strike up a conversation with their 6-year-old son. Smelling like alcohol, VanDyke then got in his car and drove away, and the Birds called 911.
Carter also reminded the jury that even after the Birds called police and an officer followed VanDyke for a possible DUI, he committed no traffic violations.
"He sees him driving safely," Carter said of Spanish Fork officer Matt Johnson, who made the arrest. "His criticism is that he was weaving within his lane of travel. Maybe you're far better drivers than me, but I drive far worse than that, I would suspect."
Acting on multiple pieces of evidence, the 911 phone call, the Birds' description and the lane weaving, the officer relied on his 14 years of experience and made the arrest, Craig Johnson said.
"He didn't have to wait until the defendant crashed into someone, or crossed the line and hit a curb. Under those circumstances, he acted properly in getting VanDyke off the streets."
Art Brown, president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving in Utah, attended both days of the trial, concerned that someone with a history of arrests had been on the road so long.
"We're delighted he's off the road until he can make good decisions," Brown said.
E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com