Montana native Tami Doreen Horn was recently sentenced to spend 13 months in an alcohol treatment program facilitated by the state's Department of Corrections after she was charged with her fourth DUI offense. Aside from the program, the woman was also ordered to serve three years under probation and pay a fine of $3,000.
According to the Billing's Gazette, Horn's fourth reported DUI incident happened on June 3 of this year. While driving under the influence of alcohol, she crashed her car into another parked vehicle. Immediately after the crash, Horn got out of her car and walked away. She was then arrested when she returned to her vehicle. Authorities said the alcohol content in her blood reached 0.342 percent, which is four times higher than the state's legal limit.
Her other drunk-driving misdemeanors occurred in 1993, 1994 and in April this year. During those times, she was also required by the state to attend treatment programs.
Last Tuesday, Judge Gregory Todd presided over Horn's case and sentenced her to an alcohol treatment program dubbed as WATCH for more than a year. The woman did not contest her sentence and apologized for her actions in court.
Horn is not the only person who received the same treatment sentence in Montana this month. Earlier this week, 48-year-old Scott Michael Twet was arrested for stealing his girlfriend's car and driving while intoxicated. He received a sentence of 13 months under the WATCH treatment program and total of three years of probation due to his other offenses, Great Falls Tribune reported.
NBC Montana noted that the number of DUI cases in the state has been increasing lately primarily due to the holiday season. In fact, during the weekend before Christmas, over a dozen individuals in Western Montana were locked up because of drunk driving.
According to law enforcers, the trend is most likely caused by the various parties and celebrations associated with the holidays. In addition, the number of people driving usually increases during this time of the year.
