A man accused of having a water bottle full of whiskey in his car was charged Monday with what prosecutors said might be his 9th DUI.

Eugene Arnell, 44, of Shoshoni, made an initial appearance before 9th Circuit Judge Timothy C. Day on a felony charge of driving under the influence. Day set Arnell’s bail at $100,000 cash.

Prosecutor Steve Weichman said Arnell’s previous charges start in 1985 in Utah and continue in 2003, 2004 and 2005 in San Diego.

“I can’t feature a person in this court posing more of a threat to the community,” Weichman said. “There’s a trail of carnage that follows him through Utah and California back to Wyoming.”

Arnell was arrested Sunday after police responded to several reports from motorists about his driving. The charge rose to the felony level because he has had three convictions in five years, including two in 2005 in San Diego and a third in 2007 in Fremont County.

Arnell did not enter a plea to the charge, and Day provisionally appointed a public defender to work on his case.

Weichman said he was still working on getting a complete picture of Arnell’s criminal history but the Fremont County case was charged as an aggravated vehicular homicide.

Arnell, who grew up in Riverton, said he was not convicted of that charge and an accident report showed a woman drifted into his lane and hit him. Arnell also said he’d never had an accident in Utah. He admitted, however, that he’s faced many DUI charges.

“It’s an extensive drunk driving record,” he said.