Ex-county commissioner Gardner accused of DUI

OREM — A former Utah County Commissioner was arrested Thursday night for investigation of driving under the influence.

David Gardner, 53, was arrested just hours before he appeared before a judge to resolve a sexual battery case.

Gardner pleaded no contest Friday morning to a class B misdemeanor of assault in Orem's 4th District Court rather than the originally charged class A misdemeanor of sexual battery.

Prosecutors allege that last April, Gardner fondled a 26-year-old Payson woman's thigh, made inappropriate advances and kissed his fingers then touched her face.

Gardner's attorney Mike Esplin asked the court to extend the time for sentencing until July 11 so Gardner would have time to get a thorough physical and mental health evaluation.

"He's got some heart issues, some emotional issues, we want to see what happens with (those)," Esplin said.

The most recent DUI arrest had no bearing on his assault case, said Esplin. Springville prosecutor Paul DeWitt, who said he came to court Friday prepared to take the case to trial.

Gardner was arrested late Thursday after 10 p.m. when a Utah County Major Crimes Officer noticed him straggling to his car in Springville.

The officer asked him to step out of the car, which had been put in gear, and to perform field sobriety tests which he failed "miserably," said Lt. Rich Ferguson.

He was booked into the Utah County Jail just after 10:20 p.m. and bailed out a little more than an hour later on $1,500 bond.

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E-MAIL: sisraelsen@desnews.com

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