Two men were arrested in separate incidents within two days of each other, both accused of driving the wrong way while intoxicated in Gallatin County.
In the first incident, 51-year-old Dylan Paul Pinet was stopped by Bozeman police officers on Thursday, November 21, 2024 after a witness said Pinet almost struck her head-on near West Kagy and Third Avenue.
The witness said she was southbound on South Third Avenue when she saw Pinet driving north in her lane of travel, nearly crashing into her.
According to charging documents, police found Pinet at 11th and College Street and followed him as he turned south on Eighth Avenue, displaying "signs of impaired driving."
Officers stopped Pinet and said he spoke with slurred speech and had “extremely” delayed reactions to questions.
Pinet allegedly did not pass standard field sobriety tests, indicating impairment due to alcohol or drugs. A breath test reportedly showed his blood alcohol concentration to be .000.
Charging documents state that Pinet has three convictions for DUI from 2014, 2018, and 2020. He is facing a felony charge of driving under the influence, fourth or subsequent offense.
In the second incident, the Montana Highway Patrol arrested Hector Sanchez Mendez around at 11:30 p.m. Saturday, November 23, after several people reported him driving the wrong way on I-90.
The reporting trooper said in charging documents that law enforcement shut down the interstate and blocked both Belgrade on-ramps after receiving several reports of a driver traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes.
According to the trooper, he found Mendez, 22 years old, around mile marker 294 and began weaving with his emergency lights activated to slow down Mendez’s vehicle. Mendez reportedly came to a stop head-to-head with the trooper’s vehicle.
Charging documents say the occupants of the vehicle were held at gunpoint until they were detained. Mendez allegedly showed signs of impairment and did not pass standard field sobriety tests.
The trooper said Mendez refused to provide a breath or blood sample. The trooper obtained a warrant for the blood draw, which was taken at Bozeman Health Deaconess Regional Medical Center. Mendez was then taken to the Gallatin County Detention Center.
Mendez faces six counts of criminal endangerment, along with other charges, for the six identified victims who reported him as a wrong-way driver.
Both men are due to appear in Gallatin County Justice Court on Monday, November 25, 2024.
