A Santa Clara man convicted previously of causing a fatal crash while driving drunk has been sent to state prison for 25 years to life under the "three strikes" law for fleeing from police at up to 120 mph while under the influence under California DUI law.

Stanley Barrymore Newton, 49, allegedly had a blood-alcohol level of 0.20 percent - more than twice the legal limit - when he ran two red lights on July 8, 2006, while trying to evade a police officer in San Jose.

The officer was trying to stop Newton for driving his Toyota Camry over the solid yellow lines at Lincoln Avenue and Lonus Street. Newton refused to stop and got onto Interstate 280, where he sped away at up to 120 mph.

The officer stopped chasing him because of safety concerns but later caught up to him on a side street. Newton pleaded guilty in March to felony reckless driving while evading a peace officer and California DUI - driving under the influence of alcohol.

The evasion charge counted as Newton's third strike. He was sentenced Monday by Judge Andrea Bryan of Santa Clara County Superior Court under California's sentencing law that requires a term of 25 years to life for any convicted felon who has previously committed two serious or violent felonies, or strikes.

"This is exactly what the voters were thinking of, a scary kind of person who can harm anyone at any point," said Kevin Smith, the deputy district attorney who prosecuted Newton.

Amy Cornell, district attorney's spokeswoman, said, "Courts are often reluctant to (discount) strikes of this kind because they feel that DUI offenders are often a serious threat to public safety."

Allen Speare, Newton's California DUI / criminal defense attorney, handled the case.

Newton, who worked at two PW Markets in San Jose, had been in custody since February, when prosecutors learned that he was a three-strikes candidate because of a previous alcohol-related crash.

In 1988, Newton was driving with a 0.12 percent blood-alcohol level when he crashed a Chevrolet Camaro into a light pole on the Capitol Expressway, prosecutors said. A passenger in the front seat, 36-year-old Richard Frable - his then-wife's cousin - was killed. Two back-seat passengers sustained head injuries.

Newton's driver's license had been suspended at the time because of a previous DUI conviction. He was convicted of vehicular manslaughter, DUI - driving under the influence of alcohol and causing injury to multiple victims.

He was sentenced to one year in county jail and three years' probation. But after he violated his probation in part by not attending mandatory alcohol awareness classes, Newton was sentenced to three years in prison.

The vehicular manslaughter and causing injury convictions counted as two strikes for purposes of his sentencing this week.

"He was on the road, drunk again, and he was more drunk than the last time," said Assistant District Attorney David Tomkins.