Texas man gets life in prison after 6th DWI; Prosecutors say the sentence fits the crime

COMAL COUNTY, Texas – A Comal province man has been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to his sixth DWI.

A jury handed down that sentence to 71-year-old Joseph Haren in October after he hit a car and a dumpster in 2022 with a blood alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit.

However, this was just the latest in a string of DWIs for Haren from across Texas spanning nearly 40 years.

FOX 7 Austins John Krinjak spoke with the case’s prosecutors, ADAs Karlei Neufeld and Jennifer Feldman, about why they believe the punishment fits the crime in this case.

JOHANNES KRINJAK: What happened in that case?

JENNIFER FELDMAN: So the defendant, Mr. Haren, drove around early in the evening and tailgating several people. The defendant drives into a warehouse and crashes into a waste container, after which he continues to drive away. While the police investigate, they discover that another person called 911, where the suspect actually hit the other person and left his license plate and his front license plate on the bumper when the police found him, and he left them a apartment complex has moved in. And in that complex his car is undriveable. He is standing next to his car. And that’s when they contact him and start their investigation.

JOHANNES KRINJAK: What is your reaction when you see that video?

KARLEI NEUFELD: Again, I think how different that would have been if he had hit another vehicle instead of a dumpster.

JENNIFER FELDMAN: Dangerous to the community. It’s so dangerous. It’s a DWI, a crime where you don’t know who will face it. Right. And thank goodness no one was seriously injured that day because of his driving.

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JOHANNES KRINJAK: What stood out to you when you heard about this case and what happened?

KARLEI NEUFELD: But what really stood out was the suspect’s criminal history. So he had five previous convictions. And the fact that this defendant had violations in multiple counties, he was driving drunk in Bexar County, Guadalupe County, Comal County, Potter County. We had previous offenses where he was boating while intoxicated while riding motorcycles and side-swiping vehicles and driving vehicles. And when you look at that together, this is not just a habitual or repeat offender. This is someone who commits criminal offenses in various ways.

JENNIFER FELDMAN: This would be Mr. Haren’s sixth DWI. He had been to prison several times. His last sentence before this was 25 years, for which he was on parole at the time of this crime. So when I look at this case and decide what to do with this case, I look for what will keep the community safe and provide justice for the people of Comal County.

JOHANNES KRINJAK: What made it clear to you that a life sentence was the right choice? Well, us.

KARLEI NEUFELD: I’ve actually spent a lot of time talking about what’s appropriate. Do we want to ask for a life sentence in this case? But often we think about what is the most dangerous offense. And our thoughts often turn to murder or assault, when in reality that is the case. And those kinds of cases, while they are extremely gruesome and are cases that we have to take seriously. Often there is only one victim, maybe two victims. But what is really more dangerous than someone flying down the highway, heavily drunk all the way, when we have parents who are just taking their kids to soccer practice or just driving home from work. There are so many people who could be innocent victims of a drunk driver, and that further increases the dangerous nature of this offense.

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JOHANNES KRINJAK: What would you say to someone who claims that there are other violent crimes that do not carry a severe penalty and that this is too harsh?

JENNIFER FELDMAN: Well, it’s not just one. You can’t just see it as the name of the crime. Right. We have to look at the history, the history that Mr. Haren had. And we had 12 community members looking at that, like, okay, here we have a DWI, which we would generally like to get treatment and help for. But the fact that he kept doing it, what’s the best way to keep people safe? And that’s how I thought about it.

KARLEI NEUFELD: He was given the opportunity to do treatment. He had to complete the treatment. And if you have someone who has completed treatment after treatment, but still goes out and does it again, we’re dealing with a bigger problem. And unfortunately, past treatment hasn’t worked for him in this case.

JOHANNES KRINJAK: What message do you hope the audience takes away from this?

JENNIFER FELDMAN: I hope they realize it’s so easy to call Uber and Lyft a friend. It’s so easy to drive anywhere now.

KARLEI NEUFELD: Taking the step of getting into the vehicle, getting behind the wheel and driving on our roads when you are heavily intoxicated is something that is simply not acceptable in Comal.

Joseph Haren will be eligible for parole when he is 101. FOX 7 Austin has reached out to his attorney but has not received a response.