Trophy Club man sentenced to 18 years prison for 8th DWI

Seated in a wheelchair in a Tarrant County courtroom Thursday, Harold “Mickey” Moore awaited his fate with his head hung low after pleading guilty to his eighth DWI conviction.

Overwhelmed with emotion, his defense attorney paused to regain his composure as he asked State District Judge George Gallagher for leniency for the 69-year-old Trophy Club man.

“I think there may come a time, hopefully in our lifetime, when the justice system looks back over our time here and says, you mean you took a man with a disease — alcohol — and put him in a cage for the rest of his life and locked him away from his children and his grandchildren and his wife and loved ones? Because of a disease?” Tim Moore told the judge, adding he believed there were other options.

Tarrant County prosecutor Richard Alpert reminded the judge of the mercy he’d shown Micky Moore in 2006 following his seventh DWI conviction, for which Moore received four years in prison and 10 years probation. Alpert pointed out how the judge had warned Moore not to drink again and to think of his daughter should he crave alcohol.

“In spite of all those warnings, in spite of the commitment, and the time, and the second chance and the mercy shown by the court that time, we are back here again,” Alpert said. “... And it may seem harsh and it may seem callous but the bottom line is that mercy, when there is no merit, is a folly. He does not deserve any mercy from this court."

With no added commentary, Gallagher sentenced Moore to 18 years in prison on the latest DWI conviction. He also sentenced Moore to 10 years in prison for violating his probation in the 2006 case.

The sentences will run concurrently, he ordered.

Moore must serve at least half his sentence before he is eligible for parole.

A broken promise

Moore’s DWI arrests spanned more than two decades, beginning with his first in 1992 by Flower Mound police.

Six more DWI arrests would follow in Colleyville, Bedford and Fort Worth, sometimes days apart.

In 2006, Moore pleaded guilty to his seventh DWI. During his sentencing hearing, family and friends painted him as a generous man and hard worker who built his janitorial business from the ground up.

His daughter, then a TCU student, told how her father never missed a ballet recital and made sure she wanted for nothing.

“He keeps saying he can never drink again and that our time together is so precious,” Angela Moore testified. “I swear to God, I don’t think my father will ever drink again. I’m not just saying that. I believe that with all of my heart.”

But on Nov. 17, 2014, Moore had a blood alcohol level more than three times the legal limit when he crashed his SUV into the back of a BMW at a stoplight on Texas 114 in Southlake. The impact forced the BMW into another vehicle.

The BMW driver testified she and her then 14-year-old daughter escaped with only scratches and bruises but were emotionally shakened by the wreck. Their car was totaled.

Family members testify

On Thursday, Moore’s daughter-in-law, Claire Coates, testified that Moore, known to her three sons as “Granddad Mickey,” was a generous man who spoiled her kids and once gave her $300 so she could buy them Christmas gifts.

“I would say he’s the most generous person I’ve met. He’s been a real blessing to us,” she testified.

Moore’s wife of five years testified that she met her husband months after he was released from prison, while he was in the midst of going through a divorce.

“I guess I fell in love with his heart because I saw good inside,” Diane Moore testified. “His tenderness toward people and caring. If he saw someone who was down and out, he would want to help them.”

Diane Moore told the judge that her husband’s health had deteriorated in the year he’s been jailed. He has congestive heart failure and a pacemaker, she testified, and has been told by a doctor he must use a wheelchair.

She testified there were other options for her husband — including that he would never drive again and could wear a GPS monitor so his every move could be tracked.

“I would do anything to have him back,” she said.

Alpert, who prosecuted the case along with William Vassar, said that the resources offered to Moore were the same he’d had access to before.

“I’ve never seen a defendant whose had more opportunity, who had more resources to change his behavior but just failed to do so,” Alpert said after the hearing.

“His family’s love wasn’t enough. His business wasn’t enough. His health wasn’t enough. The only place we can be safe is with him in prison,” Alpert said. “He’s going to die in prison and that’s what should happen because he earned it.”

This story was originally published October 15, 2015 at 4:45 PM with the headline "Trophy Club man sentenced to 18 years prison for 8th DWI."