They explain in the article. Because of his prior convictions, his charge was "bumped up" to the next level. They also say in the article that police officers

They explain in the article. Because of his prior convictions, his charge was "bumped up" to the next level. They also say in the article that police officers are told to look for prior convictions (presumably over the radio when they check identity) so that they can "bump up" the charge.