Kalispell man sentenced for sixth DUI
HILARY MATHESON | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 years AGO
EDUCATION REPORTER Hilary Matheson covers education for the Daily Inter Lake. Her reporting focuses on schools, students, and the policies that shape public education across Northwest Montana. Matheson regularly reports on school boards, district decisions and issues affecting teachers and families. Her work examines how funding, enrollment and state policy influence local school systems. She helps readers understand how education decisions affect students and communities throughout the region. IMPACT: Hilary’s work provides transparency and insight into the schools that serve thousands of local families. | July 26, 2016 10:45 AM
A Kalispell man was sentenced to the Montana Department of Corrections following his sixth DUI.
Brian Donald Jones, 55, was given a 13-month sentence followed by five years suspended and participation in a in-prison DUI program called WATCh by Flathead District Judge Robert Allison on July 14.
Jones will receive credit for four days of time served. Additionally, Jones must pay a $1,000 fine and other legal fees.
Jones pleaded guilty to felony driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.
“I’ve been alcoholic all my life,” Jones said before sentencing. “I don’t want to waste anybody’s time.”
Allison said the hope is that Jones gets treatment that won’t result in a seventh DUI.
Jones said has been in treatment multiple times and said it “works for awhile.”
“I’ve been told this is inherited. We got two alcoholics in my family,” Jones said. “And I’m going to be the third.”
Allison replied, “For what little it’s probably worth, you’re not doomed to spend the rest of your life in and out of jail, and drunk tanks, and hospitals and other kinds of institutions until you die a premature death.”
Despite genetics and lifestyle there are alternatives to living a normal life, Allison said, and treatment programs provide the tools, although not a guarantee of recovery, Allison said.
According to court documents, on Feb. 6 Jones passed a Montana Highway Patrol trooper patrolling U.S. 2 near Evergreen. The trooper saw that Jones did not have a seat belt on and his vehicle didn’t have license plates. The trooper also observed Jones’ vehicle swerve within its lane.
Jones smelled strongly of alcohol, had bloodshot, watery and droopy eyes and appeared “highly intoxicated.”
When the trooper asked for proof of insurance, Jones handed the trooper a repair bill and Jones admitted he could not perform field sobriety tests “as he was drunk” and drank a bottle of whiskey before driving.
Hilary Matheson is a reporter for The Daily Inter Lake. She may be reached at 758-4431 or [email protected].
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