Repeat Drunken Driver Sentenced In Absentia To Prison After Twice Failing To Appear

CARMEL, NY — A repeat drunken driver has run out of road, and a Putnam County judge has run out of patience.

Putnam County District Attorney Robert Tendy announced on Monday that 34-year-old Anner Osorio-Sarseno, also known as Willian Suniga, of Holmes, was sentenced in absentia last Wednesday, after his guilty pleas to felony driving while intoxicated, and felony aggravated driving while intoxicated.

On August 19, 2023, a state trooper saw a a car on State Route 312, in the Town of Southeast, that was unable to maintain its lane.

Once pulled over, the driver parked the vehicle in the middle of a three-lane intersection. The trooper noted the driver, who identified himself as Willian Suniga, had bloodshot, watery eyes and an odor of alcohol coming from his breath.

Suniga admitted to the trooper that he had consumed 5 Modelo beers before driving home. After failing standardized field sobriety tests, Suniga was arrested and he provided a breath sample that showed his blood alcohol content to be .18 percent. It was later determined, after fingerprinting, that his name was actually Anner Osorio-Sarseno.

On October 12, 2024, a trooper saw a vehicle speeding on I-84, in the Town of Kent. It was again noted that the driver, identified as Osorio-Sarseno, had bloodshot, watery eyes and had an odor of alcohol.

A DWI investigation found that Osorio-Sarseno was intoxicated, according to cops. After his arrest, a nearly empty can of Bud Light Chelada was found wrapped in a sweatshirt on the passenger side floor of the vehicle, according to authorities. Osorio-Sarseno provided a breath sample which determined his blood alcohol was .16 percent.

The DA's Office noted that Osorio-Sarseno was convicted on two prior occasions of driving while intoxicated.

On May 7, Osorio-Sarseno pleaded guilty with an agreed-upon sentence of one to three years in state prison.

However, on the day of sentencing, Osoario-Sarseno failed to appear, and a second date was scheduled by the court.

After his second failure to appear, the DA's Office petitioned the court to proceed with sentencing in his absence and requested an enhanced sentence of two to six years on each count, to be served consecutively.

The court granted the motion and Osorio-Sarseno was sentenced to a total of four to 12 years in state prison.

"It's bad enough this defendant was drinking and driving — again. Then he didn't show up for sentence, so now there's a dangerous driver out there," DA Tendy said. "He'll get picked up, hopefully before he hurts someone, and he's going to get a lot more jail time than originally agreed upon. He deserves that."