Democratic state lawmaker charged with aggravated DUI

A Democratic state representative pleaded not guilty to a charge of aggravated driving under the influence after an officer cited her for being in control of a vehicle in a gas station parking lot while too intoxicated to perform a field sobriety test back in April. 

Rep. Jade Sooktis, a freshman legislator from Lame Deer, pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charge — her first offense — in Colstrip Municipal Court on May 12 and requested an attorney. A judge set an omnibus hearing for June 23. 

According to the affidavit of Officer Don Purdon, Sooktis had a blood alcohol content of .234, nearly three times the legal limit, when he arrested her on April 30.

Sooktis did not respond to the Daily Montanan’s request for comment. 

According to arresting documents obtained from the city of Colstrip, Purdon arrived at the Town Pump in Colstrip at 2:56 p.m. after the police had received a call that two individuals were in a car parked at the gas station. 

The assistant police chief, who arrived on the scene first, told Purdon “a passenger” ran from the vehicle, while the driver jumped from the driver’s seat into the back seat and locked the door. 

Purdon opened the locked door using a department-issued tool, and “instantly smelled fresh and burnt marijuana.”

The woman in the back seat, identified later as Sooktis, got out of the car and was “extremely unsteady and could not stand unassisted.”

Purdon wrote that Sooktis was unable to perform a DUI test, but had a blood alcohol content of .234 and he arrested her.

There is no additional mention in charging documents of the second individual seen in the car with Sooktis. 

  House Minority Leader Katie Sullivan, a Missoula Democrat, said in a text to the Daily Montanan she was “concerned to hear about Rep. Sooktis.”

“While we wait to learn more, we expect her to take responsibility for her actions and seek any help she needs,” Sullivan said. “Driving while impaired is a serious offense.”

In Montana, the punishment for an aggravated DUI conviction includes a fine of $1,000 and imprisonment of up to one year.

Sooktis is running unopposed for reelection in House District 41, which includes part of the Cheyenne and Crow reservations.