TRACY ACUFF — In outstate Missouri, courts more likely to convict

After a DWI conviction in 1990, Tracy Acuff went 16 years without another.

Then, in the words of his mother, the St. Peters man "just went on a tear."

It started with a DWI from a Frontenac police officer on Aug. 29, 2006. Two days later, a state trooper gave Acuff, then 46, a DWI in Lincoln County.

Finally, on Sept. 4 — Labor Day — he got two DWIs. They were in Vandalia and in Bowling Green, Mo.

He was convicted only of the two Labor Day charges.

One crazy weekend provides a window on how DWIs are handled in the St. Louis area versus the rest of the state.

Authorities in greater St. Louis are much more likely to give a break to a repeat offender, according to a Post-Dispatch analysis of Missouri driving and court records.

Acuff's prior offense, in 1990, made him ineligible for any special deal to keep a conviction off his record, said David Ash, the Bowling Green judge.

"We knew he had a prior, so an SIS (suspended imposition of sentence) is not an option," Ash said. "That's my policy."

Frontenac police wouldn't release their report, and the court clerk confirmed the case was closed because of a "suspended imposition of sentence." Keith Cheung, the prosecutor, said he didn't know that Acuff had a prior offense.

Instead of a DWI, he got a speeding ticket.

Lincoln County court officials did not respond to a request for information about their case.