Duluth man faces 4 years for 2 drunk driving offenses

A Duluth man will spend four years behind bars for two drunk driving incidents.

Matthew Dane Stuart, 39, pleaded guilty March 4 to a sixth and seventh offense of operating while intoxicated in Douglas County Circuit Court. He was sentenced to three years for the sixth offense, with one year of confinement and two years extended supervision.

A consecutive four-year sentence was handed down for the seventh offense, with three years of confinement and one year extended supervision.

He also was ordered to pay a total of $6,333 in fines for the two charges, undergo a chemical dependency evaluation, maintain absolute sobriety, submit to random urinalysis and install an ignition interlock device. His driver’s license was revoked for 36 months. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of felony bail jumping and one count misdemeanor disorderly conduct, with the 120- and 90-day jail sentences to run concurrent. A dozen bail jumping charges were dismissed.

According to the criminal compaints:

The operating while intoxicated charges stem from two separate incidents about a year apart. In September 2011, Stuart was stopped after his truck pulled out in front of a police cruiser, changed lanes and ran into the curb along North Sixth Street. When stopped, Stuart rolled down the window and handed the officer his keys, saying, “You got me, I am drunk and I don’t have a license.”

Lab results show he had a blood ethanol concentration of 0.246, more than three times the legal limit.

In February 2012, Stuart crashed the vehicle he was driving on the Blatnik Bridge. A witness saw his vehicle pass at a high rate of speed, then lose control and careen into the left sidewall of the bridge. Lab results showed he had a blood ethanol concentration of 0.243.

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