A Spokane man has pleaded not guilty to a trio of charges after allegedly stealing a car in his home state and going for a drunken off-road session and nearly T-boning another vehicle.

Jerimiah David McNew, 33, entered the pleas Thursday in Flathead District Court to felony charges of criminal endangerment and theft as well as a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence of alcohol.

According to a court document, a Montana Highway Patrol trooper responded to Airport Road after receiving a report of a reckless driver.

A witness told the trooper he watched the car drive up and over the center of the roundabout at Airport Road and the U.S. 93 Alternate Route, into a field, back onto Airport Road traveling southbound in the northbound lane, into a ditch, back onto Airport Road and across the center line, nearly T-boning a passing vehicle.

The trooper reported McNew smelled of alcohol, was unsteady on his feet and had red, watery eyes. McNew allegedly admitted he had been drinking and agreed to perform field sobriety tests, failing them. He then refused to provide a breath sample.

It was at that point that the trooper discovered the vehicle had been reported stolen on Oct. 27 in Washington.

McNew was reportedly uncooperative and aggressive throughout his interactions with law enforcement, requiring additional security for a blood draw at the hospital as well as additional detention staff to remove him from the patrol car at the Flathead County Detention Center.

The trooper also reported McNew was banging on the cage in his patrol car while the trooper drove him to the jail.

If convicted of the two felonies, McNew faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000, as well as any restitution.

A felony drunken driving conviction is punishable by 13 months in a residential alcohol treatment program run by the Montana Department of Corrections, a consecutive, suspended sentence of five years either to the corrections department or the Montana State Prison, or between 13 months and five years of incarceration with the corrections department if the defendant has already been placed in treatment due to a prior conviction.

It also carries a fine of between $1,000 and $10,000.

District Judge David Ortley sided with a defense request and ordered McNew be released, with some conditions, so he could go back home to Spokane.

While in Spokane, McNew will be monitored by an agency there. That monitoring will be arranged through the Kalispell office of Compliance Monitoring Systems.

McNew’s next hearing is set for April 9.

Reporter Jesse Davis may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at jdavis@dailyinterlake.com.