Timothy L. Burkhalter, 47, received three years in prison for his ninth drunken driving offense and another 2 1/2 years in prison for his tenth. Burkhalter was convicted of his ninth offense in 2001 and spent 1½ years in prison. He was free on extended supervision that was supposed to end in December when he was stopped in July by a police officer in Mount Horeb after straddling the center line of a street and striking a curb.

That led to the revocation of Burkhalter's extended supervision and his tenth drunken driving charge. Assistant District Attorney Paul Humphrey said there was no alternative but to send Burkhalter to prison.

"It's hard to come up with a rational way of assuring the public is protected if Mr. Burkhalter is out," Humphrey said.

His attorney, Assistant Public Defender Diana Van Rybroek, said Burkhalter had done well after prison and had finished alcohol treatment, worked steadily, paid off back child support and court obligations and even bought a house. Then he relapsed into alcoholism, she said.

"He paid a big price and is paying a big price for that relapse," Van Rybroek said.

Burkhalter apologized and said he was ashamed of what happened.

"It seems my life is going good and I turn around and screw it up again," he said.

Dane County Circuit Judge Stuart Schwartz also sentenced Burkhalter to five years of extended supervision after he is released from prison and ordered that he not drink, not drive a car without a valid license or own a car that is not equipped with an interlock device.