A Chester County man was sentenced to 2 ¾ to 6 years in state prison Thursday by Lancaster County Judge Jeffrey Conrad.

Anthony Caraballo, 57 of Toughkenamon, was convicted by jury in November 2022 of driving under the influence, his 12^th such offense.

Assistant District Attorney Kyle Linardo prosecuted the case and asked for an aggravated sentence of 3 ½ to 8 years in prison due to the defendant’s history.

Caraballo had previous DUI convictions in 1990, 1995, 1997, 1999, three times in 2002, 2006, 2008, 2015, and 2018 and his license is suspended until 2081, Linardo said.

“DUI is a majorly dangerous crime,” Linardo said. “In Lancaster County, you’re more likely to die at the hands of a DUI driver than at the other end of a gun.”

The defendant took his opportunity to speak and said he has an alcohol issue and made a bad choice in driving to different job sites as his job as a contractor.

Judge Conrad said he understood the circumstances, but said the defendant was a “threat to pedestrians and motorists in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”

The offense is Caraballo’s 30^th driving while suspended conviction and 11^th due to having his license suspended for a previous DUI-related offense.

Judge Conrad sentenced Caraballo to 27 to 60 months on the DUI to run consecutively to 6 to 12 months on the driving under suspension conviction.

On October 19, 2021, Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Anthony Stoltzfus observed Caraballo driving a red 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 south on State Route 472 and crossing the center and fog lines multiple times, nearly striking an oncoming vehicle.

The trooper ran the license plate which showed the owner had a suspended driver’s license related to previous DUIs.

At approximately 6:32 a.m., the trooper conducted a traffic stop near the intersection of State Route 472 and Spruce Grove Road. Caraballo showed multiple indicators of impairment during the administration of field sobriety tests before being placed under arrest around 6:58 a.m.

Trooper Stoltzfus filed charges.

MEDIA CONTACT: Sean McBryan, semcbryan@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @SeanMcBryanLanc.