More News

David Anthony Jacobs, 53, of Mitchellville will not be allowed to drive a car or drink alcohol during his probation, District Court Judge Hassan A. El Amin ruled.

"You cannot have any alcohol," El Amin told Jacobs. "No cocktails, no nothing. ... If you get behind the wheel after what I've told you, you can bring everybody here — you can even resurrect Johnnie Cochran here — and you will go to jail."

Jacobs, a former corrections officer and public safety official who most recently lobbied in Annapolis for the county sheriff's department, the County Council, Comcast and the town of Colmar Manor, has been in jail since pleading guilty Oct. 13 to drunken driving after being charged in April with driving under the influence.

Jacobs' driving record includes seven counts of driving under the influence, prosecutors said. He had been on probation at the time of his April arrest, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors asked the judge on Tuesday to give Jacobs an additional 10 months in jail, noting his long record and evaluations that implied he did not consider his drinking to be a problem.

"There needs to be an element of punishment and an element of protecting the state," said Assistant State's Attorney Sherrie Waldrup.

But Jacobs, dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit, called his time in the Calvert County jail "a wake-up call" and asked for probation.

"I'll admit it right now: I have a problem," he said. "It's clearly a problem. ... There are some issues that must be addressed."

Jacobs' wife, county School Board Chairwoman Verjeana Jacobs (At large), did not attend the hearing but wrote a letter on his behalf, his attorney said.

Jacobs said he will be entering an in-patient treatment program in Calvert County for the next 28 days.

According to police records, Jacobs was charged April 29 with driving under the influence after he crashed his sport utility vehicle into a guard rail at the intersection of Enterprise Road and Route 50 in Bowie, three miles from his home.

Police wrote that Jacobs was polite but also glassy-eyed. A test registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.17, which is twice the legal limit, police said.

At the hearing, Attorney Thomas Christopher Maloney said Jacobs' job as a lobbyist played a role in his record.

"There's a lot of wining and dining that has to occur,' Maloney said. "He has been unable to abstain from the wining. ... His history is what it is."

Maloney cited Jacobs' community ties to prominent politicians and long history of community service as he asked for leniency.

Maloney and Jacobs said they "appreciated" the judge's sentence after it was imposed.

Former clients of Jacobs have been unable to say whether he will be hired in the future or whether they knew about his past convictions at the time he was hired.

In 2007 and 2008, the Prince George's County Council paid Jacobs $36,000 to represent them in each Maryland General Assembly session.

Jacobs' three years' probation includes a suspended 10-month jail sentence that can be imposed if he violates the terms, El Amin said. Jacobs must also pay $40 per month to the state to pay for his supervision and would need to apply to the court to get his driving privileges back.

"That's going to be a while, Mr. Jacobs," El Amin said. "You're making enough money to get a chauffeur. Just get a chauffeur."

E-mail Daniel Valentine at dvalentine@gazette.net.