A Stewartville woman has pleaded guilty to her seventh DUI charge in eight years, court documents show.
Elizabeth Jean Smith, 29, was charged with felony DUI and first-degree DWI, both felonies, and one count each of driving after cancellation and giving a false name to a peace officer, both gross misdemeanors.
Smith pleaded guilty earlier this month to the DUI charge; in exchange for the plea, the other counts are expected to be dismissed. Sentencing has been set for April 4 in Olmsted County District Court.
The latest charges stemmed from an incident about 11 p.m. Dec. 10, when a Rochester police officer on routine patrol on 12th Street Southwest watched as a vehicle in front of him almost sideswiped a bridge, then veered back into the right lane without signaling, cutting off a vehicle in the process.
When the officer stopped the vehicle and approached the car, he smelled alcohol coming from the driver, who identified herself as Ashley Rose Smith. The woman's eyes were "droopy, bloodshot and watery, and her speech was slightly slurred," the complaint says. She initially denied drinking.
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The driver failed all of the field sobriety tests, and a preliminary breath test indicated an alcohol concentration of more than .08. After she was arrested, she correctly identified herself and admitting using the name and birth date of a relative.
Smith also told the officer that though she had purchased the car from a private party, she hadn't transferred the title because she couldn't obtain car insurance.
Another alcohol concentration sample taken about an hour later gave a reading of .18, the complaint says.
A review of her driving history indicates Minnesota convictions for DWI in May 2007, March 2009 and September 2014. There are also DWI convictions in Wisconsin in August 2009, March 2011 and April 2013.
