YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — A man serving a prison sentence for his seventh drunken driving conviction since 2010 has asked to be released early from prison.

Tony Meranto, attorney for Christopher Hunter, 43, filed the request Tuesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

Hunter was sentenced Jan. 6 by Judge Anthony D’Apolito to 18 months in prison on a charge of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, a fourth-degree felony, for an Aug. 8 arrest by Austintown police.

Hunter had served 211 days in jail awaiting the outcome of his case before he was sentenced in common pleas court.

In January 2020, Hunter was sentenced to a year in prison for a 2019 OVI charge. When he was arrested for that charge, he was on probation for a 2018 OVI charge.

Court records are not clear if he was on probation from his 2019 OVI charge.

In his motion, Meranto provided documentation that Hunter has been attending drug and alcohol counseling classes while in prison. He also asked the judge to order a report on Hunter’s conduct in prison because he believes it will reflect favorably on his client.

Hunter was also convicted of OVI in November of 2016 in Warren Municipal Court; in July of 2016 in Niles Municipal Court; and twice in February of 2010 in Warren Municipal Court.

A first-time OVI is a misdemeanor of the first degree, but a defendant can be charged with a felony if they have a certain amount of OVIs within a certain period of time.