A Lake Tahoe man, who was stopped with a .255 blood alcohol content, an open bottle of vodka and a previous felony DUI, was 4-12 years in prison on Monday after a judge said he posed a danger to everyone else on the road.

District Judge Tom Gregory added two years to the 2-10-year sentence recommended by both the defense and prosecution for Jason David Herwill, 34.

“At .255 blood alcohol content you were as dangerous as anyone in the community at that point in time,” Gregory said.

A subsequent felony DUI carries a mandatory sentence of 2-15 years in prison and a $2,000-$5,000 fine.

“He doesn’t want to ruin someone else’s life because he’s having a bad day,” defense attorney Alexis Duecker said in arguing for the judge to follow the recommendation.

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Herwill acknowledged the danger his drinking and driving posed.

“Alcohol has been the bane of my existence,” he said. “I had a daughter, a house, a great job and I lost everything because of alcohol.”

He was arrested on May 7 at the intersection of Mottsville Lane and Foothill Road.

He was on probation from a felony DUI conviction out of Nevada City, Calif., at the time.

Prosecutor Chelsea Mazza said the May arrest was his fourth over the course of a decade.

“That he didn’t kill someone is not by his own design,” she said.

Gregory added two years to the recommended sentence, in part because Herwill was on probation when he was arrested and in part because he denied he was a criminal in the statement he gave in the pre-sentence investigation.

In addition to his prison sentence, Herwill must pay a $2,000 fine. He was given credit for 160 days he served in jail while awaiting proceedings.