Woman gets deferred DUI sentence

A 52-year-old Kalispell woman was given a three-year deferred sentence Thursday in Flathead District Court after pleading guilty to reduced charges.

Norma Miller originally was charged with felony driving under the influence, but later pleaded guilty to charges of felony criminal endangerment and misdemeanor driving under the influence. Those reduced charges came despite Miller’s three prior convictions for drunk driving.

Miller was found on July 2, 2012, still sitting in the driver’s seat of her vehicle after crashing her vehicle off of South Fork Road. She admitted to a Montana Highway Patrol trooper at the scene that she had been drinking.

Miller failed breath alcohol tests both at the scene and at the Flathead County Detention Center, with her test at the scene registering at more than three times the legal limit.

Her prior convictions for drunk driving came in December 1992, December 2001 and December 2010.

In addition to her deferred sentence, Miller was ordered to pay $1,000 in fines and a $400 public defender fee.