Cut Bank man guilty of fourth DUI

A Cut Bank man has pleaded guilty to his fourth offense of drunk driving.

Erik Belgarde, 46, entered the plea Jan. 28 in Flathead District Court.

Belgarde was reported to police Sept. 25, 2013, after he was refused service at the Gold Country Casino for being too drunk.

He struck a stop sign on his way out and later was stopped by a Flathead County sheriff’s sergeant for drifting across the lines in the road.

A bottle of liquor was found wedged between the seats and Belgarde failed field sobriety tests.

Belgarde previously was convicted of drunk driving in November 2000, July 2002 and June 2004.

A plea agreement in the case includes a recommended sentence of four years with the Montana Department of Corrections, to run consecutive to his sentence in a 2007 drunk driving case.

In that case, Belgarde initially was sentenced to 13 months with the Department of Corrections and four years of probation, but that sentence was revoked in 2012, when he was given a new sentence of four years to the Department of Corrections.

A sentencing hearing has been set for April 3.