A former Re-1 school-bus driver was sentenced to 28 days of home detention last week for her second offense of driving under the influence of alcohol.

According to a police report, 34-year-old Sherry L. Garcia of Cortez was arrested March 10 for misdemeanor DUI and numerous traffic infractions, including careless driving, driving on the wrong side of the road, running a stop sign, and three counts of failure to use a turn signal.

She was not employed by the Montezuma-Cortez school district at the time.

Upon contact with the arresting officer, the report said, Garcia admitted to having "a couple of drinks at the Warsaw" and then driving home. When asked to perform voluntary roadside sobriety maneuvers, Garcia stated, "This can’t happen to me, I’m a school-bus driver."

According to the report, she performed all of the maneuvers poorly and became agitated, screaming profanities at the two responding officers. Garcia was arrested and refused to take a blood or breath test to determine her level of intoxication.

During the incident Garcia alleged she had been sexually harassed, but no formal complaint was ever filed, according to Cortez Assistant Police Chief Russ Johnson.

According to a county-court clerk, the March DUI incident was not the first offense for Garcia, as she was convicted of the same charge in Arizona in 1989. Details of the case were not available.

Darrell Dennison, director of transportation in Re-1, said the district was aware of Garcia’s prior alcohol-related conviction, but because the case was more than three years old, it was not a violation of school policy to employ her.

"We do pull motor-vehicle reports yearly on anyone who drives district vehicles," Dennison told the Journal. "According to our insurance, they can have up to one DUI in three years.

"Last year, when I checked the motor-vehicle reports, (Garcia) was right on the border of being able to drive or not. If she would have had any more than that one DUI, we wouldn’t have let her."

Dennison, who is relatively new to the district, was not involved in the hiring of Garcia but said he personally has not employed anyone with a DUI record.

Re-1 Superintendent Bill Thompson said Garcia was employed with the district in September 1999 and resigned one month before her arrest. Her notice of resignation cited new employment elsewhere as her reason for quitting.

Thompson said he did not know why Garcia had stated she was a school-bus driver at the time of arrest.

In the event a school employee is charged with a violation of the law, there are specific guidelines in place.

"They are required, under a drug and alcohol policy that we have, to notify us, and if they don’t, the DA is required to notify us," Thompson said. "We have a hearing process, but under those kinds of conditions (a DUI), people don’t keep their jobs."

According to court records, Garcia pleaded guilty to DUI and careless driving 11 days following the incident. Seven traffic charges were dismissed by the district attorney’s office at that time and she was ordered to undergo an alcohol evaluation.

On May 22 she was fined $579 and sentenced to 14 days in jail, Level 2 alcohol classes, 60 hours of useful public service, the victims’ impact panel and 12 months’ probation. Last Thursday her sentence was amended to 28 days of home detention rather than the jail time.

Although unable to comment on specific cases, County Court Judge Chris Leroi told the Journal non-violent offenders are occasionally given home detention to cut down on overcrowding in the Montezuma County Jail.