County commissioner pleads not guilty in DUI charge

Lake County Commissioner Mike Hutchin pled not guilty to DUI charges on Monday following his arrest on suspicion of drunk driving Saturday night.

Hutchin's attorney, Matt O'Neill, entered a not guilty plea on his behalf Monday in Lake County Justice Court, and an omnibus hearing has been scheduled for Jan. 9 at 10 a.m.

According to Tribal police chief Craige Couture, Tribal patrolman Greg Funke was driving northbound on Highway 93 north of Polson Saturday night shortly before 11 p.m. when he came up behind Hutchin's vehicle. According to Couture, Funke followed Hutchin for a couple of miles and observed Hutchin's vehicle cross the center line.

"He [Funke] was behind the vehicle when it crossed the center line. He just happened to be driving that direction when he came up behind the vehicle. The cross was significant enough that it justified a traffic stop," Couture said. "He made a traffic stop, and then notified Highway Patrol."

According to Montana Highway Patrol trooper Chris Hoyt, he arrived on the scene within about 10 minutes. Hoyt said that due to the 1994 retrocession agreement between the county and Tribes, Indian officers need permission — where possible — to arrest non-Tribal members, just as non-Tribal officers like Hoyt need permission to arrest Tribal members. Hoyt said that Funke did not immediately recognize Hutchin, but called Lake County dispatch after determining he was not a Tribal member.

Hoyt said Hutchin refused a preliminary breath test there at the scene.

"He refused the preliminary alcohol breath test, but that just establishes probable cause and is inadmissible in court," Hoyt said of the test. "When he refused the preliminary test, I had no choice but to place him under arrest for investigation of DUI."

Hoyt said the location that Hutchin was pulled over, near mile marker 65, was too dangerous given the conditions to conduct a field sobriety test, in which officers usually walk a driver through a series of tests designed to test their motor skills, coordination and other factors.

"We were on a hill so I elected not to conduct field sobriety tests," Hoyt said.

Both Hoyt and Couture referred to the conditions as "foggy" at the time of Hutchin's arrest.

Hutchin was transported to the Lake County jail, where he consented to some "field sobriety maneuvers" in the jail, Hoyt said, but he declined to say what the results of those tests were. Hutchin then refused to take the standard breathalyzer test that is admissible in court, Hoyt said.

Under state law, driver's license applicants must sign an implied consent form when getting their license that says they must give a breathalyzer upon request, and refusal to do so can result in suspension of driving privileges.

"I read him the implied consent agreement, and asked him again if he would take the sobriety test in the office, and he refused to submit to the test," Hoyt said.

Drivers with standard licenses can face up to six months suspension for refusing to take the test, but because Hutchin has a commercial driver's license, he faces up to a one-year suspension, Hoyt said, even though he wasn't operating a commercial vehicle at the time of the arrest.

Hutchin declined to comment on the situation Monday, and his attorney did not return a call seeking comment.