DUI charge amended through plea deal

A 33-year-old Columbia Falls man was sentenced to criminal endangerment and given a six-year suspended prison sentence after being charged with DUI No. 4 last year.

Sean Jorgenson had faced 13 months with the Montana Department of Corrections followed by a five-year consecutive but suspended prison sentence and a $1,000 to $10,000 fine if convicted of felony DUI.

According to court records, a Montana Highway Patrol trooper responding to a report of a vehicle accident on April 29, 2013 at 12:09 a.m. located Jorgenson in his red Ford pickup truck.

Jorgenson allegedly admitted drinking earlier. After being transported to the county detention center, Jorgenson allegedly failed a field sobriety test and blew a 0.179 blood alcohol content.

A search of Jorgenson’s driving history turned up DUI or DUI per se convictions on May 16, 2003, June 1, 2005 and July 26, 2011.

In a October 2013 plea deal negotiated by Jorgenson’s public defender, Courtney Nolan, the state agreed to amend the charge to criminal endangerment and recommend a three-year suspended sentence under the Department of Corrections.

Flathead County District Court Judge Robert Allison, however, sentenced Jorgenson to six years in prison, all suspended. He also ordered Jorgenson to pay a $1,000 net fine, $400 in public defender fees and $260 in court fees.