Bail increased to $2 million for Bainbridge man accused of felony DUI

The bail for a Bainbridge Island man accused of driving under the influence for a fifth time had his bail increased to $2 million at his court appearance Monday.

The bail for a Bainbridge Island man accused of driving under the influence for a fifth time had his bail increased to $2 million at his court appearance Monday.

Todd Ryan Duffner, 28, was charged in Kitsap County District Court with felony driving under the influence. He was arrested by the Washington State Patrol on Sunday, March 23 in Silverdale after a state trooper said he saw Duffner weaving between lanes and Duffner allegedly failed roadside sobriety tests.

Duffner was previously convicted of vehicular assault in Kitsap County Superior Court in January 2005 while under the influence, and was also convicted of felony DUI in January 2008.

His conviction in 2008 was the first under a new law aimed at those accused of being chronic drunk drivers. DUI drivers could face a charge of felony DUI if they had already been convicted of four such offenses in a 10-year span or had a vehicular assault charge on their record. Previously, judges were only allowed to give sentences of up to one year for a DUI, regardless of prior convictions.

Duffner, who was 22 at the time of his felony DUI conviction, was sentenced to 20 months in prison.

Three years earlier, in 2005, he pled guilty to vehicular assault while drunk after hitting and severely injuring a Bainbridge bicyclist on High School Road. The bicyclist was rushed to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with fractures to his spine, right leg and eight ribs, a lacerated liver and two broken arms after Duffner hit him with his pickup truck.

Duffner served six months in jail for the crime.

After his arrest earlier this week, Duffner’s bail had originally been set at $75,000 for the felony DUI charge.

His next court appearance is scheduled for April 8.