The Orange County Criminal Lawyer Blog
Last week, a Montana man with four prior convictions for driving under the influence was arrested a fifth time with a blood-alcohol concentration close to four times the legal limit.
Late in the afternoon on May 5, a 58-year-old man was driving a Chevy Equinox in Seeley Lake, Montana, when something caused him to stop his vehicle in the center of a local intersection, and another motorist spotted him as they were driving past. The other driver stopped to check on the situation and reportedly found the man hunched over the steering wheel. He spoke to the man, who said he did not need assistance, but he notified the authorities to inform them about the situation.
The fire department went to the scene to see if the man needed medical help, and they were met by a deputy from the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office. The driver told them he did not need their help, and allegedly said he had too many alcoholic beverages. The deputy noted that he appeared to display several signs of intoxication, and the man reportedly performed poorly when he was given a standardized field sobriety test. In Montana, a law regarding implied consent states that a suspect must allow them to perform chemical tests. While they did not obtain his BAC at the scene, they administered a breath test at the detention facility and reported that it displayed a result of .31.