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HELPER, Carbon County — The city's mayor has been ordered to wear an electronic ankle monitor for 60 days after pleading guilty to impaired driving.
Dean Lee Armstrong, 50, entered his plea to the class B misdemeanor charge late last month in Carbon County Justice Court. He also pleaded guilty to failing to stop at a stop sign and to having an open container of alcohol in his vehicle, both class C misdemeanors, according to court records.
A Utah Highway Patrol trooper stopped Armstrong Nov. 16 after he said the mayor rolled through a stop sign on Main Street in Price. The trooper said he smelled alcohol coming from Armstrong's breath and the mayor replied that he'd had a few Bloody Marys, according to the UHP arrest report.
Armstrong told the trooper, "I am not going to be able to walk the test," when he was being instructed on aspects of a field sobriety test, the report states.
Related:
Helper mayor not resigning after alleged DUI
Mayor Dean Lee Armstrong plans to stay on as mayor and says he regrets an incident in which he is accused of driving while under the influence."I'm going to stand down. Take me in," he said, according to the report.
After Armstrong pleaded guilty, Judge Elayne Storrs ordered him to wear an electronic ankle monitor for 60 days, pay a fine of nearly $1,600 and continue attending substance abuse counseling.
State court records show Armstrong was convicted in July 1991 of DUI, a class B misdemeanor, in Salt Lake City Justice Court. A charge of negligent collision was dismissed.
Armstrong told the Deseret News in January that his arrest was a "bump in the road." Neither he nor his attorney could be reached for comment Thursday. Armstrong has said he would not resign from office.
"I've spoken with my council members — publicly and privately — I've had unanimous support from all of them," the mayor said in January. "If they did not feel they could work with me in a productive fashion, I would step aside and let someone else do that."
