Philipsburg driver arrives at sheriff’s office to pay fine while allegedly intoxicated

A man who was going to pay a fine for an open container violation in Philipsburg was arrested this week for DUI and another open container violation, the Granite County Sheriff's Office said.

“If you decide to drink excessively or smoke marijuana, DO NOT DRIVE. Call for a ride, the Sheriff’s Office will be happy to help,” the sheriff's office said in a social media post. “If you live in one of our county towns, please walk if you are able; in all of our towns, you can walk across in 15-20 mins. Stupidity is not an excuse!”

The post on Facebook came following an incident this week involving a 25-year-old man who arrived at the sheriff’s office to pay for a prior open container fine and to lodge a complaint while he was there as well.

He paid the fine but didn’t get around to lodging his complaint.

While the man was waiting for assistance, Sheriff Rico Barkell asked him if he had been helped, and when he turned to speak, the sheriff noticed the man appeared to be intoxicated and pulled him aside.

The sheriff then reportedly asked the 25-year-old if he had driven a vehicle to the sheriff’s office, and surprisingly, the man said yes.

The suspected inebriated man “received a proper scolding, which may have involved some strong words.”

A police report further stated that when asked how many drinks he’d had that day, the man replied in slurred words the common answer of “two drinks." He also said he had smoked two bowls of marijuana.

Sheriff Barkell then stepped aside and turned over the investigation to Undersheriff Chris Robinson.

During the undersheriff’s investigation, according to the report, the man agreed to a preliminary breath test, which gave a result of three times the legal limit. Investigators also allegedly found an open container in his vehicle.

The unidentified man was charged with an aggravated DUI.