Man earns sixth DUI after flipping the bird

POLSON — After getting pulled over for his sixth DUI, a Pablo man was sentenced to six years in the Montana Department of Corrections during a Lake County District Court session last Thursday.

According to Lake County Sheriff’s Office and CSKT Tribal Police reports, 39-year-old Francois Burke was arrested on April 10, 2011 after a reporting party said Burke had flipped them off while driving his green Ford Taurus in a reckless manner traveling north on U.S. Highway 93.

Burke was already on probation for his fifth DUI in 2008, and when authorities approached his Taurus on Hwy. 93 in 2011, they saw that he was driving in the middle of the road.

When Burke’s vehicle was pulled over, the court affidavit said that police saw two small children in the vehicle that were not wearing seat belts. Authorities could smell alcohol on Burke’s breath and his speech was slow and slurred. His eyes were red and glossy.

According to court documents, Burke admitted to drinking two beers and said that he thought he was allowed to drive in the middle of the road if no cars were coming.

When authorities had him step out of the car, he was unsteady on his feet. A preliminary breath test revealed a blood-alcohol level of .196.

The children were picked up by their mother and Burke was transported to jail.

There, a blood-alcohol content measurement device showed he had a BAC of .216. He talked with a Lake County deputy and admitted to drinking and driving under the influence.

Burke was originally charged with a DUI and Criminal Endangerment, but signed a plea agreement on Sept. 29, 2011 where he admitted to just the DUI charges.

Since the DUI was a violation of his probation, and along with his admitted marijuana use on Nov. 25, 2011, he was not only sentenced to five years in jail for his sixth DUI, but given another year in jail after his probation was revoked.

“He is clearly a danger to himself and the community and is no longer appropriate for community supervision,” Burke’s probation officer wrote in a report to the court.