DUI sentencing delayed due to testing at hearing

DUI sentencing delayed due to testing at hearing
Courtesy/ Dawson County Sheriff’s Office. Brandon Rohde.
January 27th, 2023 | KRVN News

    A 43-year-old man’s sentencing in Dawson County District Court Friday morning was postponed due to his testing for alcohol use.  Brandon Rohde of Lincoln and formerly from Arnold, was found guilty of Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol- 4th Offense in Dawson County District Court last October 2022.  The charge was amended from DUI-5th offense.   Rohde had been released on bond after 10% of $100,000 was posted for him.    Among the conditions of bond were no alcohol and immediate arrest if violated.   

    After some delays in the case Rohde appeared in Dawson County District Court Friday September 27, 2023 for his sentencing hearing.  As customary at the beginning of each criminal hearing, Judge Jm Doyle asked Rohde whether he was under the influence of any alcohol, drug or mind altering substance?   Rohde denied being under the influence several times.  Judge Doyle then told him that he could smell alcohol in the hallway and in the courtroom.    Judge Doyle then ordered that he be tested by the Probation Office.

    A short time later the case was reconvened and Judge Doyle said the probation officer reported Rohde as testing at .18 from a preliminary breath test. A person is considered legally drunk when their blood alcohol level is .08 or more.  Judge Doyle then ordered Rohde to jail until his hearing which was postponed to 8:30 am Monday morning.  Judge Doyle also set his bond at $100,000 cash, in order to be released before then.

      Rohde had been convicted of DUI on four previous occasions: March 20, 2008; November 10, 2009; June 20, 2013 and January 14, 2016, all in Lancaster County.

      Rohde’s current Dawson County case stems from his arrest on February 2, 2022 at 11:30pm by the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office.   A deputy observed a vehicle stopped, with no lights on, at an intersection along Highway 40 on the west edge of Sumner.    The vehicle then turned its lights on and traveled down Highway 40 a few more blocks and turned.   The deputy observed the vehicle swerving within its lane and then failed to signal a turn.  The deputy wrote in an affidavit that as he contacted the driver, identified as Rohde, he “observed a strong odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle”.  The affidavit said Rohde declined to do any sobriety or preliminary breath tests at the scene.  Rohde later submitted to an Infrared Absorption Test at the Dawson County Jail which showed a level of .336 in his system.

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