Probation officer facing charges

A Kalispell probation and parole officer facing felony charges in connection with an alleged Fourth of July drunken-driving incident is being sought following her arrest and release from jail.

Gina Janet Gonstad, 23, was charged Tuesday with felony criminal endangerment and misdemeanor DUI, according to the Flathead County Attorney's Office.

Police reports indicate that approximately 20 motorists called 911 shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday to report a sport-utility vehicle traveling northbound in the southbound lanes of U.S. 93 between Kalispell and Somers.

Gonstad was driving very slowly and without her headlights on, according to court documents.

Witnesses told investigators other drivers were forced to run their vehicles into the ditch to avoid head-on collisions. Passing motorists reportedly were able to block traffic and bring Gonstad to a stop before law enforcement arrived.

Edward Duelfer, a field supervisor with the Kalispell branch of the Office of Probation and Parole, said Tuesday officials are waiting for more information before considering any disciplinary action against Gonstad. The Office of Probation and Parole is a division of the Montana Department of Corrections.

Gonstad was stopped near mile marker 108, about a mile from where Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Mike Haynes, 29, suffered fatal injuries in a March crash with a drunk driver. That driver (who died in the crash) also had been traveling northbound in the southbound lanes of traffic.

Despite pending felony charges, Gonstad was booked into the Flathead County Detention Center and released into the custody of her roommate, a sheriff's deputy.

"She is a probation officer, a law enforcement officer, and the jail, as I understand it, was very crowded that night and not in a position to segregate her, making it a safety issue," said Flathead County Attorney Ed Corrigan, whose office authorized Gonstad's release.

Jail officials have said the facility was already over capacity on a busy holiday weekend. Authorities, however, impounded Gonstad's car and confiscated her service weapon.

"It's an unusual circumstance calling for unusual steps at that time," Corrigan said.

Police reports also indicate Gonstad, who at one point slipped out of her handcuffs and resisted troopers' efforts to put her back in the patrol car, was unsteady on her feet and incoherent. She reportedly failed field sobriety tests and refused to take a breath test, prosecutors allege.

A conviction for criminal endangerment carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. A warrant has been issued for Gonstad's arrest.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com