By By JOHN EBY / Niles Daily Star
CASSOPOLIS – An off-duty Cass County sheriff's deputy arrested in February and sentenced April 18 for a reduced charge of impaired driving was "handled like any other drunk driving case," Prosecutor Victor Fitz said Wednesday.
Melissa Ostrom's sentence, including fines and six months probation without any jail time despite a twice-the-legal-limit 0.20 blood-alcohol level, is the "standard sentence" for a first-time offender, Fitz said.
Ostrom, 36, of Cassopolis, landed in a ditch and hit some trees Feb. 17 after leaving Gards Prairie Road about 2:30 a.m.
She entered her plea at a March 14 pretrial conference.
Fitz, who has "never put out a press release on a first offense," said it is "not unusual" for a first-time drunk driving charge to be reduced, and it was not reduced to a non-alcohol case.
As a prosecutor, the charges of operating while intoxicated (OWI) and operating while impaired are nearly identical except for a $200 difference in the fine.
OWI is a misdemeanor punishable by 93 days in jail and/or a $100 to $500 fine and/or 360 hours of community service, rehabilitative programs, mandatory vehicle immobilization with a prior offense, prosecution costs and government reimbursement for emergency response and expenses for prosecuting the defendant.
The only difference in the range of penalties for impaired driving is the fine is $300.
Plus, Fitz explained, if there is a second or third occurrence, the law treats an impaired driving conviction like an OWI for purposes of enhancement, so a second offense is punishable by a year and a third is a five-year felony, "which is a great tool for prosecutors."
Fitz said defendants are also subject to driving privilege restrictions imposed by the Secretary of State apart from a judge's authority.
Asked Wednesday why the state police didn't investigate the incident, Sheriff Joe Underwood said that would have been preferable.
While he couldn't recall the exact circumstances, troopers were not available from either the White Pigeon or Niles posts.
Since time is an element in investigating a drunk driving case, deputies proceeded to give her a blood-alcohol test because "we're professional enough to do what needs to be done," Underwood said.
The sheriff acknowledged that Ostrom was disciplined, but it his office's policy not to discuss internal actions taken against deputies.
Ostrom's husband, Jerid, is a Dowagiac police officer found not guilty in Fourth District Court in June 2006 by a jury of four women and two men before Berrien County Judge Angela Pasula in an alcohol-related crash in October 2005 on M-60 after a Notre Dame-Southern Cal tailgate party.
Ostrom's Dodge Durango crashed almost head-on in Jefferson Township about 8:18 p.m. that Oct. 15 into a Chrysler minivan carrying a Niles dentist and his family.
A three-day trial centered on who was behind the wheel of the Durango when it drifted across the centerline.
Ostrom, who married Melissa Smith that June 3, maintained he had climbed in back and was asleep, while her father, Mike Smith, visiting from California, was behind the wheel.
Special Berrien County Prosecutor Jeff Rhoa, like Ostrom's attorney, Tom Swisher of Dowagiac, a former cop, made much of Ostrom's prior relationship with investigating Deputy Kim Purlee, but "not on the night of this case," Swisher argued successfully.
"Both had moved on to marry others." Purlee didn't ask for the assignment, but was randomly dispatched, dispelling Rhoa's conspiracy theory, Swisher said.