DUI and chase leads to deferred sentence

A 36-year-old Columbia Falls woman who eluded a sheriff's deputy in the Canyon in June received a two-year deferred sentence for a charge of felony criminal endangerment.

Flathead County District Court Judge Stewart Stadler also sentenced Elizabeth Emmert on Nov. 23 to six months in the county jail for a misdemeanor DUI No. 2 charge, with all but 24 hours suspended. She was also ordered to pay a $750 fine, $500 in public defender fees and a $235 surcharge.

According to court records, Deputy Geno Cook followed Emmert's vehicle into the Tamarack Lodge parking lot in Coram on June 23 because it didn't have a rear license plate. Emmert allegedly refused to open the window at first and appeared to have red, runny eyes.

After allegedly taking a swing at Cook and missing, Emmert was told she had too much to drink and to get out of the vehicle. Instead, she allegedly drove off in her vehicle on the slick, rainy highway at speeds reaching 75 and 95 mph before she stopped near Nyack Flats.

Emmert allegedly refused to exit her vehicle and was forcibly removed. Deputies found an open 12-pack of beer in the rear seat. Emmert failed a field sobriety test at the Flathead County Detention Center and was found to have a prior DUI conviction from December 2008.

Emmert, who was employed and a student at Flathead Valley Community College, was unable to post the $40,000 bond. She pleaded guilty on Sept. 22 after a plea agreement was reached and was released on her own recognizance with a SCRAM electronic monitor five days later.