County CEO charged with second DUI

Spokane County’s highest-ranking non-elected official appeared in court Monday after she was charged over the weekend with her second DUI in three years.

County Chief Executive Officer Francine Boxer, who is also serving as interim director of Geiger Corrections Center, pleaded not guilty to the DUI charge before Judge Pro Tem Julie McKay. Boxer declined a request to comment after the hearing.

Boxer, 53, had a blood-alcohol level of .15 percent, nearly twice the legal limit of .08 percent, said Mel Hoit, Lincoln County deputy prosecutor.

A Washington State Patrol trooper cited Boxer with driving under the influence and released her about 3:30 a.m. Saturday to a taxi driver, WSP spokesman Trooper Jim Hays said.

On Monday, McKay released Boxer without imposing a bond. But McKay ordered Boxer to report to probation so that she can get her breath tested twice a week to make sure she hasn’t been drinking.

Boxer, who makes $93,500 a year plus $550 a month for a car allowance from the county, appeared in a special hearing before McKay and with a prosecutor from Lincoln County to avoid a conflict of interest, District Court Administrator Ron Miles said.

As CEO of the county, Boxer oversees the District Court, the prosecutor’s office and more than 2,000 employees.

“That’s exactly why a special judge is selected. The appearance would be suspect if a sitting judge or prosecutor handled the case,” Miles said. “You always want to err on the side of caution.”

Spokane County commissioners, who supervise and hold disciplinary authority over Boxer, had little to say about her arrest.

“I really can’t comment because we haven’t discussed anything with Fran, and we don’t really have any information,” Commissioner John Roskelley said.

Commissioner Kate McCaslin said Boxer called her over the weekend, but said that she wouldn’t comment on the situation until it has been investigated.

Commissioner Phil Harris, citing “due process,” also said he wasn’t ready to discuss the situation or any possible disciplinary action until he has all the details.

The incident began at 12:19 a.m. Saturday when a caller reported a one-vehicle crash at 27026 E. Moffat Road near Newman Lake.

The caller told Crime Check that a maroon Jeep Cherokee had gone off the road and struck a tree. But the vehicle appeared to be abandoned, sheriff’s spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan said in a press release.

Deputy Darrell Rohde arrived about 1:25 a.m. and found the damaged 2004 Cherokee with personalized Washington license plates “IMATWIN.”

Believing the SUV was unoccupied, Rohde asked dispatchers to run a check on the license plate. The Jeep’s registered owner is Boxer’s husband, Dave Purtill. He told dispatchers that Boxer had the Jeep and that he had not heard from her, Reagan said.

“Rohde then checked the interior of the car and spotted Boxer sleeping on the back seat,” Reagan wrote in the release. “He had her step out of the car to determine if she had been injured. During that discussion, the deputy detected the odor of (an) alcoholic beverage on her breath.”

Because of the potential conflict of interest, Rohde called the WSP. Trooper Barry Marcus arrived at 2:26 a.m., Hays said. Marcus tested Boxer’s blood-alcohol level sometime after 3 a.m. and then released her to the taxi about 3:30 a.m.

“Whether she is booked or not is not really a big deal for us in this case,” Hays said. “She’s easily identifiable. She’s a local resident. She’s not a flight risk.”

Because she wasn’t tested until about three hours after the crash was reported, Boxer’s blood alcohol content may have been higher, Hays said. “I can’t really speculate because we don’t know if alcohol was consumed after the crash. But the (blood alcohol) burn-off rate is about .015 (percent) per hour.”

On Oct. 12, 2001, Boxer was arrested on her way home from a family dinner. A WSP trooper found her parked in the median of Interstate 90. A breath test showed her blood-alcohol level at .22 percent.

Boxer eventually chose a deferred prosecution in which she paid for alcohol-abuse counseling and had a breath-monitoring device installed in her car for a year. If she had no alcohol-related arrests or convictions for five years, that DUI charge would have been dropped.

In an op-ed letter on The Spokesman-Review’s editorial page published on Oct. 29, 2001, Boxer wrote: “I have taken full responsibility and have not asked for any special treatment.

“My deepest hope is that many will learn from my mistake and poor judgment and never drink and drive again,” she wrote. “I know I have learned.”

In court Monday, Boxer’s attorney, Adrian Voermans, implied that Boxer may not have been driving at the time of the crash.

“Her husband was with her the whole night,” Voermans said in court. “She made a statement to police that just doesn’t square with what (Purtill) told me.”

However, Hays said that Boxer was the only person found at the crash and that Purtill called WSP dispatchers from his home at 2:04 a.m., saying that Boxer “may have been involved in a collision.”