Former Libby man gets fourth DUI

A Kalispell man, formerly of Libby, has been charged with his fourth offense of drunk driving after allegedly being stopped for driving without lights on the night of April 5.

Matthew Munro, 32, is charged in Flathead District Court with felony drunk driving for the incident.

A court document states Munro was stopped on West Idaho Street by a Kalispell Police Department officer who witnessed the darkened vehicle two blocks from the liquor store which he helps run. The officer reported Munro displayed several signs of intoxication including slurred speech and diminished motor skills.

Munro reportedly failed several field sobriety tests before agreeing to take a breath-alcohol test but then refusing to blow into it. He then allegedly refused to take a breath-alcohol test. A blood sample was subsequently drawn and sent to the Montana State Crime Lab for testing.

The document states Munro’s prior convictions for drunk driving came in October 2001, July 2004 and September 2010.

A felony drunk driving conviction is punishable with 13 months in a residential alcohol treatment program run by the Montana Department of Corrections, a consecutive, suspended sentence of five years either to the corrections department or the Montana State Prison, or between 13 months and five years of incarceration with the corrections department if the defendant has already been placed in treatment due to a prior conviction.

It also carries a fine of between $1,000 and $10,000.

Munro was initially incarcerated in the Flathead County Detention Center but was released on his own recognizance during his initial appearance with the requirement that he submit to alcohol monitoring.

An arraignment hearing has been scheduled for May 22.