Kansas Sen. Gene Suellentrop (R) will have to spend time in jail for a wild wrong-way drunken ride down Interstate 70 in Topeka this spring after pleading no contest Monday to driving under the influence and reckless driving, The Kansas City Star reports.
Suellentrop pleaded no contest to DUI Class B misdemeanor and reckless driving. The court ruled the former Republican leader was guilty on both counts.
In exchange for pleading no contest on the misdemeanor charges, prosecutors dismissed a felony charge of attempting to flee or elude law enforcement officers that stemmed from his chase with police that ultimately ended near downtown Topeka, The Star reported.
The court sentenced him to a maximum of six months in jail on count two and a $750 fine. That sentence was suspended, however, Suellentrop must serve 48 hours consecutively in the Shawnee County Jail. He was also sentenced to 90 days and a $25 fine, which was suspended and given six months probation, according to the report.
Suellentrop appeared for a preliminary hearing this morning after a March 2021 incident where he was arrested following a short chase in Topeka. The docket had him listed for a plea.
According to the criminal complaint, Suellentrop was driving drunk in March of 2021 when he went 90 miles per hour fleeing law enforcement the wrong way on highways through Topeka, according to the criminal complaint released Monday in Suellentrop’s new arrest charges.
Kansas lawmakers voted him out a Senate Majority Leader Suellentrop after DUI arrest.
Read the report on Kansascity.com
