An Austin man who drunkenly drove his car into a ditch in December was sentenced to three years probation and community service on Wednesday in Mower County court.

Murphy Reagen Julious, 27, who was convicted on his fourth DWI offense in the last four years, will spend nearly a year in jail if he violates his probation. He is also scheduled to perform 120 hours of community service.

According to a criminal complaint, police spotted Julious’ car in the ditch during the early morning hours of Dec. 27. An officer spoke on-scene with Julious, who said he had been driving too fast and had spun out. Julious had watery, bloodshot eyes and smelled of alcohol.

He was taken to jail, where he registered a 0.20 blood-alcohol reading less than an hour after the incident. The state’s legal limit is 0.08.

Julious was previously convicted of DWI in February 2006, then twice again within two months in 2007.