In brief: Senator’s plea deal includes DUI guilt
BOISE – Idaho Republican Sen. John McGee choked back tears after pleading guilty Friday to driving under the influence of alcohol, part of a plea agreement that came as his lawyers blamed his erratic behavior on a concussion they say impaired his judgment.
In return for McGee’s guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to dismiss a felony count of taking a vehicle without the owner’s permission and causing more than $1,000 in damage in a deal that will likely allow him to avoid any more time behind bars.
McGee, 38, represents Caldwell and is the Republican Senate Caucus chairman.
The judge approved the terms of the plea agreement, announced during a 4th District Court appearance originally planned as the preliminary hearing.
McGee received a withheld judgment, was fined $1,000 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 175 days suspended. He was given credit for two days already spent in jail and will be allowed to serve 24 hours of community service to account for the remaining three days of jail time. He’ll also have to undergo alcohol counseling, will have his driver’s license suspended for at least 30 days and must participate in a DUI victims panel.
The four-term senator from Canyon County, a father of two young children, was arrested June 19 after police say he took an SUV attached to a cargo trailer from the southwest Boise home of a stranger and got it stuck in a yard just down the street, causing several thousand dollars in damage.
Defense attorney Scott McKay told the judge that McGee has already paid restitution to the owners of the vehicle and sent letters of apology.
Agency confirms grizzly bear photo
SEATTLE – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says a photo confirms a sighting of a grizzly bear in the North Cascades for the first time in perhaps half a century.
The service said Friday a panel of experts identified the grizzly in a photo taken last October by Joe Sebille. The Mount Vernon man says he was hiking near Marblemount when he saw the bear and snapped the cellphone photo.
A member of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, Becki Heath, said it’s a significant event in the recovery of the bear. Fewer than 20 grizzlies are believed to live in Washington’s North Cascades.