Columbia Falls man faces DUI No. 4 charge

by Richard Hanners Hungry Horse News
| November 7, 2012 6:26 AM

A 44-year-old Columbia Falls man pleaded not guilty to felony DUI in Flathead County District Court on Oct. 25. Rodney Hoerner faces 13 months with the Department of Corrections, a five-year consecutive and suspended sentence, and a $1,000 to $10,000 fine if convicted of his fourth DUI.

According to court records, a Flathead County sheriff’s deputy who was investigating a two-vehicle collision in Kalispell on Oct. 2 at 10:34 p.m. noticed that one of the drivers, Hoerner, smelled of alcohol and had slurred speech and glassy eyes.

Hoerner, who allegedly admitted to drinking, failed field sobriety tests and refused to provide a breath sample for an alcohol test. A search of his prior driving history turned up DUI convictions on Nov. 9, 1992, Sept. 25, 2008 and Jan. 31, 2011.

Five years earlier, Hoerner was arrested and charged with his second DUI on Dec. 29, 2007, after the vehicle he was driving eastbound on U.S. 2 from Marion was seen swerving and then went into a ditch near Kila.

Two women who stopped to help said Hoerner yelled at them to help push the vehicle out of the ditch. When they said they wanted to call for help, he allegedly got angry at them, put his distraught 14-year-old daughter behind the wheel and began pushing the vehicle by himself.

The Montana Highway Patrol trooper who responded reported that Hoerner failed his field sobriety tests, blew a 0.295 blood-alcohol content — more than three times the legal limit — and asked for a blood test. He was transported to Kalispell Regional Medical Center for a blood draw. He was charged with felony criminal endangerment and misdemeanor DUI.

Hoerner, a home builder, was released from formal house arrest after he posted a property bond but was put back on formal house arrest after a deputy responded to a complaint by one of his tenants. The deputy reported that Hoerner had been drinking, which violated conditions of his release.

Following a Sept. 25, 2005, plea agreement, Flathead County District Court Judge Katherine Curtis dismissed the felony count and sentenced Hoerner to six months with all but five days suspended on the DUI charge. He was also ordered to complete after-care alcohol treatment at Sundown Ranch. Nine months later, Hoerner’s defense attorney filed a $1,657 attorney’s lien against him for unpaid fees and costs.