Commissioner charged with driving under influence

Hutchin pleads not guilty

By Nick Ianniello / To the Leader

Lake County Commissioner Michael Hutchin pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol and disorderly conduct after his arrest at the Lincoln's 10,000 Silver Dollar Bar in Haugan Feb. 1. Hutchin was released from jail at 7 a.m. Feb. 2 on a $1,185 bail. His pretrial hearing is set for March 4 at 10 a.m. in Mineral County.

Hutchin was arrested for DUI in Lake County Dec. 10, 2005 and pleaded guilty in 2006 to operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content of .08 or greater, according to Lake County Justice Court documents.

According to a police report written by Mineral County Deputy Michael Boone, he and Sgt. William Armour responded to a possible attempted abduction at around 4 a.m. Feb. 1. The report states that they had been notified by the Haugan dispatch that a male subject had allegedly tried to pull a woman into his truck. She allegedly got away from him and told authorities that the suspect was sitting in his vehicle outside the hotel, the report stated. Dispatch also notified Boone and Armour that Hutchin was in possession of a concealed weapons permit, according to the report.

The caller reportedly described the vehicle as a white four-door Ford diesel pickup truck with a specialty license plate that read "KMISHNER." The caller allegedly told police that she had received a complaint about him from hotel guests regarding a car alarm coming from the front of the hotel at around 3 a.m., the report stated. When she approached the car, Hutchin was allegedly passed out with the vehicle running and his head on the car horn, according to the report.

The caller stated that she tapped on the car window to try and wake Hutchin, the report said. When that did not work, she reportedly opened the car door and asked Hutchin if he was all right. Hutchin allegedly did not respond and she reached into the car to pull his head off the horn, the report said. Hutchin then allegedly became "semi-aware" and she asked him if he had a room in the hotel. He reportedly did not respond, so she asked him if he would sleep on the passenger side if he was going to sleep in his car, according to the report. Hutchin still did not respond, so she reached across him to recline the seat, in an effort to prevent him from leaning on the car horn, according to the report. At this time, the caller said that Hutchin allegedly grabbed her arm and tried to pull her toward him. She pulled away and returned to the lobby to call police, according to the report.

According to the police report, when Boone and Armour arrived at the Lincoln's 10,000 Silver Dollar Bar, Hutchin was allegedly in his truck with the engine running and his head resting on the steering wheel. Armour reportedly provided Boone with cover while he opened the car door and grabbed Hutchin by his left arm. Hutchin awoke and began to resist the officer, according to the report. After a moment of talking to Hutches, Boone got him out of the car, handcuffed him and placed him in the patrol car, the report said.

The police report stated that there was a strong odor of alcohol in the vehicle, but there were no open containers. There was reportedly a pistol placed under the center portion of the front seat.

Boone read Hutchin his rights and asked him if he was staying at the Silver Dollar Inn with anyone else, the report said. Hutchin reportedly responded that he was staying with his wife and showed officers his hotel room key.

Boone then reported that he contacted Hutchin' wife, Patricia, who was in the hotel at the time. She reportedly told officers that sometimes her husband likes to sit in his vehicle and listen to music.

Since the weather was too bad to perform a field sobriety test on Hutches, Boone reported that he read him the Preliminary Montana Implied Consent Advisory and asked him for a breath sample. Hutches reportedly agreed and provided a breath sample that allegedly yielded a blood alcohol content of 0.227. The legal BAC in Montana is 0.08. Drivers who are behind the wheel of a running motor vehicle must have a BAC lower than that, whether or not it is moving.

Boone then reportedly called to have Hutchin's truck towed and allowed Patricia Hutches to remove their belongings, along with the pistol, from the truck.

Hutchin was taken to the Mineral County Jail in Superior, where he failed a field sobriety test and gave a second breath sample. His final BAC was 0.197, according to police.

"He was processed just like everybody else that gets a DUI," said Mineral County Sheriff Hugh Hopwood.

Hutchin has been charged with DUI, which carries a fine of up to $1,085, six months in prison, an alcohol awareness class, and possible loss of his vehicle and driver's license. He has also been charged with disorderly conduct, which carries a fine of up to $85 and a maximum of 10 days in jail. He pleaded not guilty to both charges.

"You can get a lot of scrutiny with a case like this. But I assure you, everyone is treated the same," Hopwood said.