BACA COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — A Baca County judge will spend time in jail for driving under the influence less than two years after her first DUI offense.
On May 7, 62-year-old Debra Gunkel pleaded guilty in Prowers County Court to violating the terms of her probation for a 2018 DUI case by committing another DUI.
The first DUI incident occurred Jan. 14, 2018 in Prowers County, when Gunkel was driving with a blood alcohol level of .137.
The second incident occurred on Aug. 17, 2019 in Kansas.
“When Gunkel pleads guilty to the Kansas DUI in June, jail time is mandatory,” the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said in a written statement.
Gunkel pleaded guilty to the first DUI offense in October 2018. She received a deferred judgment, meaning the conviction could be erased if she successfully completed two years of probation.
But by allegedly driving drunk again, she had her probation revoked. When Gunkel pleaded guilty on May 7, the court revoked the deferred judgment and entered the DUI conviction.
The 18th Judicial District was named special prosecutor in the case in February 2018.
“No one is above the law – not law enforcement, not elected officials, not prosecutors and not judges,” said DA George Brauchler in the statement. “All it takes to end drunk driving — wait for it — is for people to stop drinking and getting behind the wheel. This defendant, someone who has sat in judgment of numerous drunk drivers who appeared in her courtroom, was offered a second chance and a vehicle for rehabilitation. She chose to squander that opportunity. She will pay the consequences.”