SONOMA -- The Petaluma man arrested Sunday in connection with a fatal boating incident at Lake Sonoma has two recent pending misdemeanor drunken driving charges and a prior misdemeanor drunken driving conviction.

Sonoma County Superior Court records show William Russell Dawson, 25, was convicted of the misdemeanor DUI charge on Jan. 4, 2001. He is scheduled to change his not guilty plea Thursday on two pending misdemeanor drunken driving charges stemming from his arrest on Feb. 16.

Dawson was arrested at Lake Sonoma after 51-year-old Mark Spier, of Orland, fell off the back of a Master Craft ski boat and became stuck in the boat's propeller around 3:40 p.m. in the Warm Springs arm of Lake Sonoma near Jet Ski Cove, Sonoma County Sheriff's Lt. Greg Contos said.

A Sonoma County Sheriff's Department deputy freed Spier from the propeller and Spier was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy is schedule for Tuesday.

Spier was a passenger in the rear of the boat operated by Dawson and fell overboard when the boat backed up, Contos said.

Another passenger in the boat, Eric Brandon, 26, of Petaluma, was arrested for being under the influence of alcohol, the sheriff's department said.

Dawson was arrested for felony boating under the influence of alcohol causing bodily injury to another person and misdemeanor charges of operating a boat with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent or greater and operating a boat under the influence of alcohol.

The penalties for drunken boating are similar to drunken driving and include jail, fines, license suspension, DUI school and probation. However, nothing in the California Harbors of Navigation Code prohibits having open containers of alcohol in the vessel.

Dawson posted $10,000 bail bond and was released from the Sonoma County jail at 10:43 p.m. Sunday. He is scheduled to appear in Sonoma County Superior Court on those charges May 24.

Sheriff's Lt. Chris Spallino did not have exact statistics readily available this morning but he said drunken boating citations at Lake Sonoma are common.