Fifth DUI sends woman to treatment

A 46-year-old woman has been sentenced to 13 months in treatment and three years of probation after pleading guilty to her fifth offense of drunken driving.

Rebecca Malek’s sentence was part of a plea agreement that included dismissal of misdemeanor counts of fleeing from or eluding a peace officer, violation of provisions of probationary license and resisting arrest.

A court document states Malek was drunk, acting strangely and was verbally aggressive while on the side of Holt Stage Road, where an animal control officer tried to keep her. She refused, got in her car and drove away.

After refusing to pull over and eventually driving down a driveway off Montana 35 all the way to a fence, Malek locked the doors and refused to open them for a deputy, the document states. Malek kept pushing the lock button, eventually unlocking the vehicle by accident.

She then leaned into the car and hung on the steering wheel to keep deputies from pulling her out. They eventually dragged her from the car, held her down and handcuffed her.

Malek’s prior convictions for drunken driving came in November 1999, September 2007, October 2010 and December 2010.