Cedar Rapids man pleads guilty to 16th drunk driving conviction

A Cedar Rapids man pleaded guilty Thursday to his 16th drunken driving conviction, which is apparently a record in Linn County, the county prosecutor said.

'It's the most I've seen and I've been here 32 years,” Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden said.

Steven L. Viers, 54, pleaded guilty to OWI, third offense, and driving while barred. He admitted during the plea to being intoxicated and driving March 28, 2013. He also admitted to driving with a barred license.

Viers has received jail and prison time over the years for previous drunken driving and other convictions.

Court records show Viers also has convictions including burglary, theft, interference with official acts, driving while barred and driving on a suspended license in Linn County, and a OWI conviction out of Johnson County.

In this conviction, Viers was backing out of a driveway on Mt. Vernon Road and 'clipped” another car driving down the street, Vander Sanden said. He then drove back in the driveway and parked. The other driver called police and identified Viers who was at the house where he parked his car.

Viers failed a field sobriety test, police said, after the incident but refused to take a breath test, Vander Sanden said.

He faces up to seven years in prison and up to 17 years from the OWI conviction in March. The penalties could be ran consecutively. Vander Sanden hasn't made a recommendation at this time.

A jury convicted Viers of his 15th OWI charge, along with another driving while barred. Viers remains in jail pending sentencing on both convictions. The jury only deliberated about an hour before convicting Viers in that case. According to testimony, a police officer out on patrol about midnight on April 10, 2013 stopped Viers after seeing him pull over his car, get out and run over and hide behind a nearby tractor-trailer.

When the officer approached him, Viers said he was waiting for his son to pick him up and claimed he wasn't driving, the officer testified. Viers also failed a sobriety field test and refused to take a breath test.