Man gets five years sentence for 9th DUI

A man was sentenced to five years with the Montana Department of Corrections for driving drunk and causing a crash in Evergreen on March 11.

Gary Gene Gilbert, 62, received the five-year sentence for his ninth DUI. A consecutive suspended five-year probationary sentence will follow the DUI sentence for one count of felony criminal mischief that resulted from the same incident. Gilbert was convicted on his own guilty plea.

Court documents say he pulled out on Evergreen Drive and struck another vehicle before he pulled into the parking lot of Valley Motors and hit two parked cars.

A Montana Highway Patrol trooper pulled over Gilbert and noted that Gilbert was unsteady on his feet and smelled of alcohol.

Gilbert refused to provide a breath test, but a blood sample was collected at the hospital.

Gilbert has eight prior DUI convictions dating back to 1990.

In addition to the sentence, Gilbert was fined $2,000 with $1,000 suspended, and ordered to pay a public defender fee of $800.

Reporter Megan Strickland can be reached at 758-4459 or mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.