Lake County District Court news for April 20, 2011
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Judge C.B. McNeil dealt with the following case Wednesday, April 13:
Summer Lea Vaska, 32, Polson, pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, fourth or subsequent offense, a felony. The court found Vaska guilty. Vaska will be sentenced as a persistent felony offender, and sentencing is set for Wednesday, May 25 at 9 a.m.
According to court documents, charges stem from a February 28 incident where a Polson police officer responded to a report of a vehicle stopped on the wrong side of a stop sign at 7th Street and 7th Avenue in Polson.
The officer found the vehicle stopped to the right-hand side of the stop sign, between the sign and a fence, with tire tracks in the snow. Vaska was behind the wheel and the engine was running. Her speech was slurred, her eyes bloodshot and glassy, and she smelled strongly of alcohol, according to court documents. When asked where she was, she said “Pablo,” and she said she was not driving, although she was in the driver’s seat with the car running. She was taken to the Lake County Jail for further DUI processing, where she refused sobriety tests.
Judge Deborah Kim Christopher dealt with the following case Thursday, April 14:
Joseph Allen Cahoon, 50, Pablo, pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, a felony. Cahoon remains at liberty. An omnibus hearing is set for Thursday, June 16, with a jury trial beginning at 9 a.m. Monday, July 25.
According to court documents, charges stem from a March 26 incident where a tribal officer saw Cahoon driving past the intersection of Hummingbird Lane and Timberlane Road in Ronan. Because the officer believed Cahoon’s license was suspended, he followed Cahoon, watched Cahoon cross over the center of the road twice, and then pulled Cahoon over. The officer noted that Cahoon’s eyes were glossy and red, and his breath smelled of an alcoholic beverage. Cahoon told the officer he did not drive across the center line, to which the officer replied that there is no center line on that street, and he had not yet informed Cahoon that he’d seen him cross over the center of the road.
A search of Cahoon’s driving record revealed three prior DUI convictions, and that Cahoon’s license was indeed suspended.
