A Cayuga Jury on Wednesday acquitted a Syracuse man who had six prior convictions related to drinking and driving of a felony driving while intoxicated charge, but convicted him on several other charges.

Kriss R. Kissel, 40, with a last known address in Syracuse, was found guilty of felony aggravated unlicensed operation, the misdemeanor of driving while ability impaired and the failure to comply and failure to keep right.

The jury began deliberations Tuesday afternoon but was sent home for the night. After an hour of deliberations Wednesday morning, they returned with a verdict.

Kissell has four prior driving while intoxicated convictions and two driving with ability impaired convictions.

In February, Kissell was sentenced to one year in the Cayuga County Jail. He had been out of jail for about a month before the latest incident.

The jury, however, was not informed of those convictions.

The deputies testified Kissell drove drunk and without a license while leading them on a high-speed chase Oct. 24 - sometimes going as fast as 75 mph - from the village of Port Byron to Onondaga County's Warners. Police said he finally ditched his car on a dead-end street and tried to lose officers on foot through a wet, woodsy area.

Kissell says he was not intoxicated.

For more on this story, read Thursday's edition of The Citizen.