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BRIGHAM CITY (AP) — A Box Elder County commissioner who pleaded guilty to drunk driving last month said this week that he was going through a difficult time and made poor choices.
Commissioner Ryan Tingey, 47, said that he's somewhat relieved the news of his April arrest is now public after spending months waiting for media to report it.
"It's been like waiting for the other shoe to drop," Tingey told The Standard-Examiner on Monday.
Tingey was arrested in April after running a red light in Riverdale.
According to police reports, Tingey failed a field sobriety test. He told officers he was going through a divorce and had drank too much alcohol, according to police.
Riverdale City Attorney Steve Brooks released a police report Monday that showed Tingey's blood-alcohol content at the time of his arrest was 0.26.
It was a one-time thing, a mistake. And I've taken the steps to making sure it won't happen again.
–Commissioner Ryan Tingey
"It was a one-time thing, a mistake," Tingey said this week. "And I've taken the steps to making sure it won't happen again."
After pleading guilty in August to a misdemeanor drunk driving charge, a judge sentenced Tingey to counseling, community service and one year of probation. Tingey was also ordered to pay a $1,400 fine.
Prosecutors agreed to drop a red-light violation against Tingey in exchange for his guilty plea.
Tingey, a Republican, had announced before his arrest that he would not run for re-election this year. His four-year term ends in December.
He was elected to the commission in 2010.
Before that, he served as the mayor of Willard and served on the city's planning commission and city council.
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Information from: Standard-Examiner, http://www.standard.net
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