BY KEITH EPPS

A Spotsylvania man with 11 verified convictions for driving while intoxicated was convicted of a 12th Tuesday.

David Maron Apraham, 44, pleaded guilty in Spotsylvania Circuit Court to felony driving under the influence (third within five years), driving on a suspended license and refusing to take a breath test. In exchange for his guilty pleas, prosecutor Tom Shaia dropped a felony eluding police charge.

Apraham will face a maximum penalty of seven years in prison when he is sentenced Nov. 6.

According to the terms of a plea agreement, Apraham's first DUI conviction came in April 1990 in Mississippi. He later had five more in Mississippi, three in Alabama and now three in Virginia. The other Virginia convictions were in Williamsburg in 2008 and Colonial Heights in February of this year.

Shaia said police learned that Apraham is also wanted in North Carolina and the state of Washington on DUI charges there. Those warrants were issued in 2007 and 2010. He is also wanted on a misdemeanor charge in Alaska and in Mississippi and Alabama for violating court orders.

The Spotsylvania incident occurred late Nov. 24 in the Four-Mile Fork area. Deputy Jason Morris saw Apraham stumbling around a BMW dealership before getting into a maroon pickup truck, court records state.

Morris saw the driver swerve well over a double yellow line three times. Court records state the Apraham increased his speed after the deputy turned on his emergency lights before finally turning into a parking lot, barely missing the curb.

Apraham was handcuffed after he lost his balance while walking toward Morris with his arms extended. He told the deputy that he'd had four to five beers about four to five hours earlier. He refused to take a breath test, but smelled strongly of alcohol, the plea agreement states.

Apraham is being held without bond in the Rappahannock Regional Jail pending sentencing.

Keith Epps: 540/374-5404
Email: kepps@freelancestar.com