A Ronan man with eight prior convictions for DUI was convicted by a Lake County jury of what records show is his ninth. Michael A. Buck, 57, took the case to trial in District Court in Polson Monday, Aug. 4; it ended with a conviction by Tuesday afternoon.

According to court records, on Feb. 22, 2024, law enforcement officers observed Buck driving a white van in the Pablo area. His passenger was known by the officers to have a warrant out for their arrest, giving them probable cause to stop the van.

However, when the officers approached the van, Buck and his passenger swapped seats. Initially, Buck denied switching seats with his passenger and after failing a number of field sobriety tests, he was detained.

After Buck was brought to jail, his alcohol content was checked again by using an Intoxilyzer 9000, a sophisticated tool that measures a person’s alcohol content by “utilizing four infrared wavelengths for sample analysis,” according to the device’s website. Buck’s blood alcohol content was .120 according to the test results.

Records show Buck with eight prior convictions for DUI, most recently in 2019. He was still on probation stemming from that conviction.

Flathead County Judge Danni Coffman presided over the trial. She set sentencing for Sept. 24. Buck remains in custody with bail set at $100,000.