Man's prison sentence upped to four years

A Columbia Falls man is going to prison after admitting he drove drunk and violated a prior sentence for sexual assault.

James Whitaker, 51, originally received a 10-year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to felony sexual assault for molesting a 13-year-old girl in 2008.

By pleading guilty to the new charge of felony driving under the influence, Whitaker violated that sentence.

The drunk driving charge came after Whitaker was confronted outside Mike’s Conoco in Columbia Falls after an officer saw him buying two six-packs of beer while visibly drunk. He later failed field sobriety tests and, during a breath alcohol test, registered at nearly 4 1/2 times the legal limit.

His prior convictions for drunk driving came in July 2003, June 2007 and February 2011.

During a sentencing hearing July 25, District Judge Ted Lympus gave Whitaker a sentence of 13 months in the Montana Department of Corrections Warm Springs Addiction Treatment and Change program to be followed by four years of incarceration and 11 years of probation.

Whitaker was also ordered to pay a $500 fine.