A Baca County judge will have mandatory jail time after pleading guilty to a second DUI offense in two years.
Judge Debra Gunkel pled guilty May 7 in Prowers County to violating probation terms stemming from an August 2019 incident, according to a news release from the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. She first pled guilty to a DUI offense in October 2018 after an arrest the previous January but received a deferred judgment, with the opportunity to have her conviction erased after two years of probation, the release stated. The 18th District DA’s office was named special prosecutor in the first case.
When Gunkel pleads guilty to this latest DUI in June, the plea will come with mandatory jail time, according to the release. The incident occurred in Kansas.
“No one is above the law – not law enforcement, not elected officials, not prosecutors and not judges,” said District Attorney George Brauchler in the news release. “All it takes to end drunk driving — wait for it — is for people to stop drinking and getting behind the wheel.”