Boulder City attorney to be jailed for DUI

Erica D. Johnson

Wednesday, March 31, 2004 | 8:51 a.m.

Boulder City Attorney David Olsen entered a plea deal with prosecutors on Tuesday that will require him to spend six days in the Clark County Detention Center on a drunken driving charge.

Olsen, 54, said he suggested the jail time as part of a negotiation in which he pleaded no contest to a single charge of DUI before Justice of the Peace Deborah Lippis.

"As the city attorney of Boulder City, I hold myself to a higher standard," Olsen said. "I want the community to know I take this very seriously, just as seriously as they do."

Chief Deputy District Attorney Gary Booker said he would prepare an order arranging the specifics of Olsen's jail stay.

Olsen will likely spend three weekends in jail, but it was unclear when those stays would begin. Jail time generally is not required for first time DUI offenders, Booker said.

"We didn't want to send a message to the community that just because you work for the system, you get special treatment," he said.

Authorities say Olsen had a blood alcohol level of 0.11 when he drove his 2001 Yamaha Road Star motorcycle through Boulder City on Sept. 14.

Nevada's new law, which lowered the blood alcohol standard for proving DUI to 0.08 from 0.10, had not taken effect when Olsen was arrested. It went into effect less than two weeks later.

As part of the deal, Olsen won't be sentenced on the charge for a year. During that time, he is required to attend weekly Alcoholic Anonymous sessions, attend a victim impact panel and pay a $1,175 fine, Booker said.

Olsen also agreed to have a breath interlock device placed in his two vehicles, which will prevent him from driving drunk. The device also was Olsen's suggestion, he said.

"It gives further assurances to the people of this community that when I'm driving, I'll be driving safely," he said.

If Olsen successfully completes the requirements, the charge will be reduced to a misdemeanor charge of careless driving.

Olsen's punishment was nearly double that of a typical first-time DUI offender, Booker said. The average defendant has an informal probation period for six months and is only ordered to pay a $580 fine, he said.

Breath Interlock devices are usually reserved for repeat DUI offenders.

Olsen said he and prosecutors had initially discussed his participation in the court's moderate offender program, which requires an alcohol abuse assessment. But program officials determined that Olsen did not qualify for that program, he said.

"I don't have a severe problem with alcohol," he said.

Still, Olsen said he wanted the deal to reflect a similar punishment. He said he believes the negotiation was appropriate.

"Where much is given, much is expected," he said. "I don't have any problems with the way this turned out."