Cd'A woman gets probation after 7th DUI

A Coeur d'Alene woman was recently sentenced after being found guilty of felony DUI following a two-day jury trial in October. 

Katie Louise Knowles, 47, was sentenced by District Judge Regina McCrea to a 10-year prison sentence with parole eligibility after five years. 

McCrea suspended the sentence and placed Knowles on probation for 10 years. McCrea also ordered a four-year driver’s license suspension and that Knowles participate in substance abuse treatment as a condition of her probation. 

Knowles has been in custody since her arrest May 6 and was ordered to remain in jail until her release into treatment Feb. 24, according to a press release from the Kootenai County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.

The charge stems from an incident May 6 in which Knowles was called in as a possible intoxicated driver. After locating Knowles, officers conducted a traffic stop and investigated.

"Due to Knowles’ behavior during the traffic stop, the standardized field sobriety tests were not administered," a press release said. "Suspecting Knowles was under the influence of drugs — not alcohol — officers offered her a urine or blood test, but she refused."

After obtaining a search warrant, officers collected a sample of Knowles’ blood which later revealed that she had methamphetamine, among other drugs, in her system, the release said.

Knowles was sentenced Dec. 15.

Knowles’ criminal history spans 25 years and includes convictions for possession of drug paraphernalia, frequenting a location where drugs are used or present, possession of controlled substances and several probation violations, the release said.

Having previously been convicted of at least two prior felony offenses, Knowles was also convicted of being a persistent violator.

Knowles also has six prior convictions for DUI: Misdemeanor DUI in 2001 and again in 2002, both in Bonner County; felony DUI in 2010 and again in 2013, again both in Bonner County; and felony DUI in 2016 and 2017, both in Spokane County.

Knowles is also pending a DUI charge out of Spokane from an April incident.

Felony DUI is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. 

This enhancement mandates that a prison sentence be no less than five years but allows a court to extend a sentence by up to life, the release said.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 32% of all traffic crash fatalities in the United States involve drunken drivers. In 2022, there were 13,524 people killed in these preventable crashes. In fact, on average over the 10-year period from 2013-2022, about 11,000 people died every year in drunk-driving crashes, the release said.