BUCKHANNON — An Upshur County man faces a felony charge after being charged with driving with license revoked for DUI for the seventh time.

Joseph Ryan Lane, 35, of Crawford, is charged with one count of driving while having a license revoked for DUI-Third offense, a felony. Lane was in Tygart Regional Jail on a $10,000 10% cash, 90% personal recognizance bond, which was posted on June 12.

According to the criminal complaint, filed by Deputy R.T. Lamb with the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office, on June 11, Lamb observed a male passenger in the front seat of a red Nissan Sentra with West Virginia registration without a seatbelt. Lamb then initiated a traffic stop.

The driver of the vehicle, identified as Lane, allegedly told the officer that he “currently possessed a revoked driver’s license through the state of West Virginia” and had “multiple prior convictions and multiple prior charges for driving while his license was revoked for DUI,” the complaint states. 

Lamb writes that he confirmed this with Upshur County Communication Center, who said that Lane’s license had been revoked for DUI since January 4, 2013. The “multiple prior convictions” were also confirmed through further investigation.

According to the complaint, Lane had prior convictions for driving while having a license revoked for DUI on Jan. 8, 2013 in Upshur County; on Feb. 18, 2015 in Mercer County; on April 7, 2016 in Upshur County; on Aug. 25, 2017 in Mercer County; on Aug. 31, 2017 in Mercer County; and on March 7, 2018 in Mercer County.

In May, Lane was indicted by an Upshur County grand jury for driving while license revoked for DUI, third or subsequent offense, a felony, and no insurance, a misdemeanor.