C-Falls man faces fifth DUI charge

A 34-year-old Columbia Falls man has been charged with felony DUI while still on probation for felony DUI conviction two years ago.

Chad Downen pleaded guilty to the new charge in Flathead County District Court on Feb. 12. His public attorney had reached a plea agreement with the county attorney’s office which recommends a five-year sentence with the Department of Corrections. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 23.

A petition to revoke his earlier sentence was filed Feb. 2, and a revocation hearing is scheduled for April 23. Downen was released on his own recognizance with a remote alcohol monitor on Feb. 12.

According to court records, a Kalispell police officer pulled over a vehicle suspected of speeding just after midnight on Jan. 25. As the officer approached the vehicle, she observed the driver and a passenger switch seats.

The female in the vehicle, Catherine Hampton, 24, allegedly insisted she had been driving, not Downen. The officer eventually arrested Hampton and charged her with obstructing justice. She was released because the jail was full.

The arresting officer reported that Downen smelled of alcohol and had slurred speech and bloodshot eyes, but he failed the field sobriety tests because of prior injuries. Downen allegedly refused to provide a breath sample at the location of the traffic stop and at the Kalispell police station, so a search warrant was obtained and he was transported to the hospital for a blood draw.

A search of his driving record showed that Downen had been convicted of DUIs in May 2003, July 2005, February 2010 and February 2013.

In the last case, Judge Ted Lympus sentenced Downen to 13 months with the Department of Corrections followed by a three-year suspended sentence.

Downen was charged in that case after Columbia Falls police officers allegedly caught him spinning brodies on Railroad Street late at night.