Martin City man could possibly face DUI No. 6 charge

by Richard Hanners Hungry Horse News
| November 18, 2013 10:48 AM

A 51-year-old Martin City man whose felony DUI No. 5 charge was reduced to a misdemeanor in a January plea deal now faces another DUI charge — along with a charge of driving as a habitual offender.

According to court records, John Harrington was arrested Oct. 14 on U.S. 2 East near River Road in Columbia Falls after a sheriff’s deputy noticed a motor home with broken tail lights weaving across the center line and fog line.

Harrington, the driver, refused to perform field sobriety tests or to provide a breath sample at the scene or at the county jail. A records search found that he had been convicted of five DUIs — in November 2007, May 2008, March 2010, January 2012 and January 2013.

But in the case of the January conviction, Harrington’s DUI No. 5 charge was reduced to a misdemeanor in a plea deal after his public attorney, Jessica Polan, filed a discovery request with at least eight listed exhibits and six witnesses and subpoenaed the Montana Highway Patrol trooper who had arrested Harrington.

In the plea deal, Harrington entered an Alford plea — in which he did not plead guilty but acknowledged that sufficient evidence existed to convict him — and the felony DUI No. 5 charge was reduced to a misdemeanor DUI No. 3.

Harrington also ran into trouble with the Columbia Falls police this past summer. Columbia Falls City Court Judge Tina Gordon sentenced him in early September for driving with a suspended license and no insurance. Harrington has been designated a habitual offender through 2016.

In the latest case, Harrington was charged with felony DUI and a felony charge of driving as a habitual offender. He faces up to 13 months with the Montana Department of Corrections, a five-year suspended prison sentence and a $1,000 to $10,000 fine if convicted of the first charge, and from 14 days to one year confinement and a $1,000 fine if convicted of the second charge.

Harrington pleaded not guilty on Oct. 31. He is currently residing in the county jail on a $20,000 bond and must wear a SCRAM bracelet if released. His next hearing is scheduled for March 5.