Eric Paul Faes (Photo courtesy Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail)
A 29-year-old James City County man who pleaded guilty in January to drunkenly driving through the Historic Triangle and assaulting a police officer was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison with 8 years and 9 month suspended.
Officers from the James City County Police Department arrested Eric Paul Faes after they saw his Volkswagen Jetta going 80 mph in a 45 mph zone on Pocahontas Trail on Aug. 17. The vehicle was driving in an erratic manner, swerving between vehicles until officers stopped him near McLaws Circle.
During the traffic stop, police found a 750 milliliter bottle of vodka that was two-thirds empty. Williamsburg-James City County Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Joshua DeFord said in January that Faes told officers he had also taken “several medications.” When officers went to arrest him, he struggled, causing police to use a stun gun on him.
Less than an hour before the traffic stop, Faes crashed into a stopped Chevy Colorado that was waiting to turn at the intersection of Richmond and Ironbound roads in Williamsburg. The husband of one of the two women in the Colorado was in a Toyota Prius ahead of the truck and got out to make sure they were OK. He said Faes told him he had no driver’s license before speeding off, almost striking the man in the process.
Officers took Faes to Riverside Doctor’s Hospital for treatment, at which point he was disorderly and verbally abusive, according to police. At one point he spit in an officer’s face.
DeFord said Thursday it’s “clear there are some mental health issues” with Faes. His attorney, Pat Kelley, submitted a report to the court in January that details what he described as “pretty significant schizophrenic issues.”
Faes pleaded guilty to a third offense of driving while intoxicated. He offered a no contest plea to assaulting a police officer as he had no recollection of the event.
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