Drunken driver to serve 6 years in fatal Ocean City crash during Cruisin'

Because of past offenses, the drunken driver convicted in a fatal Ocean City crash was given a "rare" sentence above the maximum guidelines, according to a news release.

In early January, 51-year-old Stanley Faison, of Waldorf, Maryland, was convicted of six total charges, including homicide while driving under the influence of alcohol, according to the state's attorney's office.

Judge Brian Shockley sentenced Faison March 2 to 10 years, but suspended all but six years, which is double the maximum sentencing guidelines, after the state's attorney sought enhanced penalties because Faison is a subsequent offender. He will also be required to serve three years supervised probation after his release.

Faison was arrested in May 2017 after police said he fatally struck 23-year-old J.R. Ednie of Virginia, who was crossing Coastal Highway near 45th Street during that year's Cruisin' Ocean City event.

During trial, the state's attorney's office said officers testified that Faison had "bloodshot, glassy eyes, slurred and mumbled speech and the strong odor of alcohol coming from his breath and person." A breath sample provided after Faison's arrest yielded a breath alcohol content of 0.12 percent, which is above Maryland's legal limit.

He was also found guilty of driving under the influence in North Carolina in 2011, the state's attorney's office said, and again in Minnesota 27 days before the crash in Ocean City.

Homicide while driving under the influence carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, according to the state's attorney's office, but the Maryland Sentencing Commission guidelines indicated Faison faced six months to three years in prison based on the gravity of the offense and his past convictions.

Interim State's Attorney Bill McDermott described those guidelines as "abhorrent," the release stated, and requested Shockley sentence Faison above the guidelines.

"Nothing we do can ever bring J.R. back, but sentencing Mr. Faison above the guidelines, who appallingly was found guilty of his second DUI only 27 days prior, might deter future drunk drivers from killing people in Worcester County," McDermott said of his intention to seek an enhanced penalty.

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