HENRY COUNTY, Ind. — A repeat drunk driver agreed to plead guilty Wednesday in his third Operating While Intoxicated case.
Timothy Hughes is charged with six counts in Hamilton County, including OWI Endangering a Person, OWI with a Concentration of .15 or more, as well as OWI with a prior conviction.
He will be sentenced on May 27.
It's an update to a story WRTV Investigates has been tracking for the past year.
Court documents allege that on May 1, 2025, Hughes was in Cicero, swerving in and out of his lane on his way to work at 7 a.m.
Court documents allege Hughes attempted to walk away from police officers, claiming he was OK and had just woken up.
“He stated at one point during the test that he was going to lose his job,” according to an affidavit for probable cause from Cicero Police.
Hamilton County prosecutors allege Hughes’ blood alcohol level was .30, nearly four times the legal limit.
In February 2026, a Henry County judge convicted Timothy Hughes Thursday of Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated Endangering a Person, a Level 5 Felony.
The judge sentenced Hughes to four years in the Indiana Department of Correction, followed by a six-year suspension of his driver’s license.
Court documents said that on June 16, 2025, Hughes was on I-70 “all over the roadway, driving at a high rate of speed.”
A Henry County Sheriff’s deputy pulled Hughes over on State Road 3 and Fair Oaks Road after the deputy observed him weaving in and out of his lane, court documents allege.
The deputy noted “an overwhelming odor of an alcoholic beverage” coming from his vehicle.
Prosecutors say Hughes’ blood alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit.
He told deputies, “F**k all ya’ll. I know I’m going back to prison,” read court documents.
In court, Hughes admitted that his behavior put other people’s lives at risk.
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Amanda Wheeler sat in the courtroom for the sentencing in Henry County.
“I’m a little all over the place right now, being in the courtroom,” said Wheeler. “I think the biggest concern is the transparency and what happens next.”
Hughes was convicted in a drunk driving crash that injured Amanda Wheeler and killed her cousin Carla McCloud on August 11, 2015, in Hancock County.
His blood alcohol level in 2015 was more than three times the legal limit.
Hughes was sentenced to the maximum -- 9.5 years in the Indiana Department of
Corrections and a 10-year driver's license suspension.
Hughes served only half of his prison sentence.
In 2020, he was released from prison with credits for time served, plus credits for education and completion of programs while in prison.
Four years later, on August 1, 2024, Hughes’ license was suspended for Failure to Appear
for Driver Safety Program.
A month later, on September 1, 2024, Indiana State Police ticketed Hughes for driving while suspended on I-65 in Bartholomew County.
Hughes paid a $152.50 fine, and days later, he got his driver’s license back.
Less than a year later, on May 1, 2025, Hughes had a valid driver’s license when Cicero Police stopped him for allegedly driving drunk.
His driver’s license was not suspended again until May 15, 2025, after his Hamilton County OWI arrest.
WRTV Investigates spent weeks contacting state and local agencies, and we learned it’s common for offenders to serve their driver’s license suspensions while they’re behind bars.
Amanda Wheeler hopes that in the new Henry County case, the criminal justice system follows the sentence, specifically the six-year license suspension upon his release from prison.
“It doesn’t make sense to have a license suspension while you’re in prison,” said Wheeler. “You’re not driving.”
Wheeler plans to communicate with prosecutors and the Indiana Department of Correction.
“I have every intention of contacting who I need to make sure this is brought to the surface, and people understand it,” said Wheeler. “My hope is obviously to get those organizations to start communicating together, so that there is transparency in the sentencing and so I can walk out of a courtroom like this and know what’s going to happen."
