Kittelman not guilty

Tools

Story Published: May 20, 2009 at 7:26 PM PST

By KPIC-TV Staff

ROSEBURG, Ore. - Former Douglas County Commissioner Marilyn Kittelman was cleared of a charge of Interfering with a Police Officer, by a Douglas County Circuit Court judge Wednesday afternoon.

The charge, which was reduced to a violation against Kittelman, came after an incident on New Year's Eve when a Winston Police officer stopped the car in which her son was a passenger, as a possible D.U.I.

Kittelman, who had become an ex-county commissioner just a few minutes before the incident, came to the scene to defend her son.
She said he had participated in a toast at midnight, in a private home with his parent present.

Judge William Lasswell, who has retired, but came back to serve under the plan that requires judges to give a certain amount of time after their retirement, heard the case.

Lasswell in giving his ruling, said "Ms. Kittelman and the officer got into a verbal struggle and each provoked the other, and it got out of hand. There was never any clear communication from the officer, that if you do this right now, this consequence will occur."

Kittelman's attorney Rahn Hostetter of Enterprise, Oregon, told the court, "the two teens joined in a midnight toast, and neither were impaired." He said, "A confused officer issued Angus an M.I.P. even though he lawfully consumed alcohol in a private home with his parent."

Jeremy Markiewicz, the prosecutor from Jackson County told Judge Lasswell, "All the circumstantial evidence shows her intentions to be there to prevent the officer from citing a minor."

During the incident, police cited both Kittelman's son and the driver of the car, for Minor in Possession.

Officer Mike Miller testified that both were given a Breathalyzer Test and Angus Kittelman registered .04, while the female driver had a .02. The legal limit for drunk driving in Oregon is .08, although neither of the two were of legal age.

Angus Kittelman's case is still pending in Douglas County Circuit Court.

More local news

Current Weather

Current Temp 44.0 °F

Overcast

Video

More Weather

Current Weather

More Weather

Upload directly from your mobile device.

Learn how

YouNews

This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.