County commissioner pleads guilty in DUI case

Lake County commissioner Mike Hutchin pled guilty last week to having a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher, commonly referred to as DUI per se, in a plea agreement reached before his scheduled trial date.

As part of the plea agreement, Hutchin has three months to complete a chemical dependency treatment course and will receive 10 days suspended jail time and is to pay a $435 fine. The sentence is in line with other DUI per se convictions.

Hutchin was pulled over on Dec. 10 and charged with DUI after a Tribal officer and Highway Patrolman allegedly smelled alcohol on his breath. Hutchin refused to take a breathalyzer test, and no field sobriety tests were performed as it was foggy out that night.

According to Tribal Police Chief Craige Couture, Tribal Patrolman Greg Funke was driving northbound on Highway 93 north of Polson 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.

Montana Highway Patrolman Chris Hoyt said Hutchin refused a preliminary breath test at the scene, leaving him no choice but to place Hutchin under arrest for investigation of DUI.

Hoyt said after the arrest the location that Hutchin was pulled over, near mile marker 65 north of Polson, 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.

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

Hutchin was transported to Lake County Jail where he again refused to take a breathalyzer test. He was released and driven home by a friend because the jail was too full that night.

Under state implied consent laws, drivers can lose their license for six months, or a year for those with a commercial driver's license like Hutchin has, if they refuse to take a breathalyzer test, but the state must prove that an officer had probable cause to pull a driver over. As part of the plea agreement, Hutchin will be able to retain his driving privileges.

The case was turned over to Kalispell Justice Court Judge David Ortley, and Pablo attorney Dusty Deschamps was brought in to prosecute the case, to ensure there were no conflicts of interest.