A 34-year-old Bellevue man was sentenced Monday to 42 days in jail after getting caught driving drunk for a third time. Sentencing for Jesse Deckard came on the same day that two new felony DUI cases made their way into Blaine County 5th District Court.
Judge Robert J. Elgee gave Deckard credit for four days already spent behind bars, ordered a suspended five-year prison sentence, fined him $2,000, suspended his driver's license for one year and placed him on probation for two years.
 Jesse Deckard
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"If your probation officer wants you to go to AA [Alcoholics Anonymous], that's what you do," Elgee told Deckard. "You need to do what you need to do to keep from coming back here."
Deckard pleaded guilty to felony DUI in June.
The judge noted that the court received numerous letters from friends, family and employers attesting to Deckard's good character.
"The bad things about you, Mr. Deckard, are obviously what got you here—alcohol and alcohol driving," Elgee said.
Deckard was charged with a felony in the latest DUI case against him because of prior misdemeanor DUI convictions in Blaine County in 2008 and 2009. Idaho law provides that a DUI offense "shall" be charged as a felony if a defendant has two prior DUI convictions within the past 10 years.
The latest arrest occurred the evening of Feb. 19 when Deckard slid his Ford F150 pickup into a snow bank at the intersection of Fourth and Elm streets in Bellevue. According to a Blaine County Sheriff's Office report, Deckard had a blood-alcohol level of .264, more than three times the legal allowance in Idaho of .08.
"Many people couldn't even be standing at that blood-alcohol level, let alone driving," said Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Matt Fredback at Monday's hearing.
Instead, Fredback said, Deckard was intentionally "slipping and sliding" his vehicle on a slick roadway following a blizzard.
"He is probably a good guy with a very serious problem," Fredback said. "Unfortunately, this serious problem could seriously hurt someone else."
Defense attorney Douglas Nelson said Deckard has not consumed any alcohol since his arrest in February.
"He admits that he's got an alcohol problem," Nelson said. "With his track record over the last six months, I'm hoping that he'll keep doing what he's supposed to be doing,"
Deckard told the court that he is sincere about changing is life.
"This last six months of sobriety gave me the chance to understand some of the things that have been going on in my life," Deckard said. "This has been a very positive thing for me."
Deckard was taken to the Blaine County jail following sentencing. Elgee ruled that Deckard be allowed work release while incarcerated.
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Michael B. Braun
Shoshone resident Michael B. Braun, 23, has been charged with felony DUI because of two prior misdemeanor DUI convictions. According to court records, his first conviction was in Twin Falls County in 2006 and his second was in Blaine County in January of this year.
 Michael B. Braun
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In the latest case against him, Braun is accused of driving intoxicated on Woodside Boulevard in Hailey on the evening of June 25.
Hailey Patrolman Shane Manning wrote in a probable-cause affidavit that Braun was pulled over for speeding in a 1997 Chevrolet. Manning wrote that Braun failed three field sobriety tests and was tested at a blood-alcohol level of .153.
Braun pleaded not guilty at district court arraignment Monday. Elgee scheduled a jury trial for Dec. 6 and advised Braun that felony DUI is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Braun remains free on $7,500 bond. He is represented by Ketchum attorney Dan Dolan under Dolan's public defender contract with Blaine County.
According to Idaho court records, in addition to two prior misdemeanor DUIs, Braun has been convicted of seven speeding, failure-to-yield or reckless driving infractions in the Magic Valley since 2005.
Raul Ramirez
Raul Ramirez, a 27-year-old Hailey resident, was charged with a felony under an Idaho law that addresses "excessive alcohol concentrations" by intoxicated drivers. According to the law, a person with a prior DUI conviction for an incident when his or her blood-alcohol level was .20 or greater "shall" be charged with a felony on a second arrest within five years if the blood-alcohol level again exceeds .20.
 Raul Ramirez
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According to the criminal complaint against him, Ramirez had a blood-alcohol level of .258 when arrested by Ketchum police on June 27. The complaint further states that Ramirez was convicted in Blaine County in 2007 of misdemeanor DUI and had a blood-alcohol level in that case exceeding .20.
Ramirez pleaded not guilty at arraignment before Elgee on Monday. A jury trial was scheduled to begin on Jan. 5, 2012.
Ramirez remains free on his own recognizance under the conditions that he not drive and submit to random alcohol testing. Dolan has been appointed public defender.
A probable-cause affidavit filed by Ketchum Patrolman Shon Stevens states that Ramirez was arrested around 2:30 a.m. on June 27 after he drove his vehicle off the roadway near the intersection of state Highway 75 and Serenade Lane.
Stevens wrote that he initiated field sobriety tests but was unable to finish them.
"Since Raul was unable to stand on his own, I did not finish the rest of the sobriety tests for safety reasons," he wrote.
Terry Smith: tsmith@mtexpress.com
