Matthew Kane Winters was sentenced to the Division of Corrections for thirty months on July 24th in the Circuit Court for Queen Anne’s County. The case was prosecuted by Deputy State’s Attorney Michael “Mick” Cuches.
On Sunday, April 29, 2018 at approximately 3:49 PM a Maryland State Trooper was on routine patrol in the area of Del Rhodes Avenue in Queenstown when he observed a Ford F350 truck stuck in a mud-filled ditch off the roadway. The Trooper pulled over to investigate and observed a white male walking around the vehicle and using it to balance himself. The male stated that he was trying to make a phone call when his vehicle left the roadway. His speech was slurred to the point that several of his words were not discernable and many were strung together with no pauses between the individual words.
He identified himself with a Maryland Driver’s license as Mark Anthony Winters. Mr. Winters told another assisting Trooper that he drank wine, however he told the initial Trooper he drank two beers. Based upon Mr. Winters’ condition he was requested to perform standardized field sobriety tests. Based upon his failure to perform those tests satisfactorily he was placed under arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Mr. Winters then advised that he provided a false name to the troopers and that his real name was Matthew Kane Winters. He said that he provided his twin brother’s name because he knew he had an active arrest warrant. Investigation revealed that Mr. Winters’ license to drive was revoked and suspended for prior alcohol related offenses. He was then transported to the Maryland State Police Barrack where he submitted to a test of breath which resulted in a finding that his BAC (breath alcohol content)was .27 grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath, over 3 times the legal limit of .08.
On July 24, 2018 Mr. Winters appeared in the Circuit Court for Queen Anne’s County at which time he was convicted of driving under the influence per se. Deputy State’s Attorney Michael “Mick” Cuches sought subsequent offender penalties and argued for the need to incarcerate Mr. Winters due to his six (6) prior DUI and/or DWI convictions and two (2) prior PBJs for alcohol related driving offenses; the nature of this incident; and, the high level of Mr. Winters’ intoxication. Winters was then sentenced to thirty (30) months in the Division of Corrections.