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Washington woman sentenced in sixth DWI case

by | Aug 27, 2026

Close up on the scales of justice on a small bronze statue over a blue background with copy space conceptual of law and order
(Courtesy/Adobe Stock)

A Washington woman was sentenced last Thursday to five years in jail after pleading guilty to her sixth DWI, a charge stemming from a March crash near Amissville. With three years and 10 months of her sentence suspended in a plea deal, her jail time was reduced to 14 months.

Brittney Lee, 38,  pleaded guilty in Rappahannock County Circuit Court to driving while intoxicated with a prior felony conviction. Lee was also sentenced to three years of supervised probation upon release and her driver’s license was suspended indefinitely. 

According to a summary of the commonwealth’s evidence, Lee was involved in a single-vehicle accident on March 9 on Lee Highway near Amissville. When Lt. Chris Garcia arrived on the scene, he “immediately detected a strong odor of alcoholic beverage,” the summary said, and Lee admitted she had been drinking and had been driving the crashed vehicle. 

Lee has been held without bond since her arrest. A motion for her to be released on bond was denied in District Court in March by Judge Jessica Foster, who called Lee “a danger to the community,” and said her first five convictions were “not a motivator” for Lee.

Author

  • Ireland Hayes

    Ireland joined Foothills Forum as a full-time reporter in 2023 after graduating from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication with a degree in journalism and minor in music. As a student, she gained valuable experience in reporter and editor positions at The Red & Black, an award-winning student newspaper, and contributed to Grady Newsource and the Athens Banner-Herald. She spent three years as an editorial assistant at Georgia Magazine, UGA’s quarterly alumni publication, and interned with The Bitter Southerner.
    Growing up in a small town in Southeast Georgia, Ireland developed a deep appreciation for rural communities and the unique stories they have to tell. She completed undergraduate research on news deserts, ghost papers and the ways rural communities in Georgia are being forced to adapt to a lack of local news. This research further sparked her interest in a career contributing to the preservation of local and rural news.
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By Ireland Hayes

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Ireland joined Foothills Forum as a full-time reporter in 2023 after graduating from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication with a degree in journalism and minor in music. As a student, she gained valuable experience in reporter and editor positions at The Red & Black, an award-winning student newspaper, and contributed to Grady Newsource and the Athens Banner-Herald. She spent three years as an editorial assistant at Georgia Magazine, UGA’s quarterly alumni publication, and interned with The Bitter Southerner. Growing up in a small town in Southeast Georgia, Ireland developed a deep appreciation for rural communities and the unique stories they have to tell. She completed undergraduate research on news deserts, ghost papers and the ways rural communities in Georgia are being forced to adapt to a lack of local news. This research further sparked her interest in a career contributing to the preservation of local and rural news.