By Derrick Perkins
Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, Mont.
FLATHEAD COUNTY, Mont. — An accused drunk driver faces a felony charge after deputies arrested her while responding to a string of incidents beginning in Martin City that involved a woman in various states of undress.
Prosecutors have filed one count of felony assault on a peace officer and misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence and assault with bodily fluids against Ashley Lynn Dryden, 32, of Kalispell following her April 17 arrest. She remains in the county jail with bail set at $75,000.
Deputies with the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office began pursuing Dryden after receiving a report of a disorderly woman yelling obscenities and walking around nude from the waist down in Martin City. Other reports described her as putting pants on, court documents said.
En route to the area, deputies passed a red Ford Escape traveling about 89 mph in a 55 mph zone, according to court documents.
Upon arriving in Martin City, deputies were unable to find the woman, but later learned of an individual matching her description involved in a suspected theft at a gas station at the intersection of U.S. 2 and Montana 40. She was described as shoeless and driving a red Ford Escape, court documents said.
Another caller reported a barefoot woman pushing a red Ford Escape on Wishart Road. That’s where deputies finally came across a woman they identified as Dryden, according to court documents.
Deputies reported smelling the odor of an alcoholic beverage on Dryden as they spoke and spotted a nearly empty bottle of vodka on the passenger seat of the Escape, court documents said. They also allegedly reported seeing two possible marijuana pipes alongside the liquor bottle.
Asked to perform a field sobriety test, Dryden, who had a prior arrest for driving under the influence, refused, court documents said. Deputies arrested her instead, planning on getting a blood draw at a Kalispell medical facility, according to court documents.
Dryden allegedly grew violent during the trip to Kalispell, kicking the cage of the law enforcement vehicle and slamming her head against it. When deputies stopped to reseat her, she attempted to kick them, court documents said.
Upon arrival in Kalispell, Dryden allegedly began yelling and cursing at deputies while they tried to arrange for a blood draw. When they attempted to put her back in the law enforcement vehicle, Dryden climbed up onto its roof, court documents said.
During the ensuing scuffle, a deputy suffered injuries to his lower back, knee and elbow, court documents said. He allegedly smashed his knee and elbow onto the concrete floor of the facility’s sally port
Eventually, several deputies held Dryden down for the blood draw, which they received a warrant for over the phone, according to court documents.
Later taken to county jail, Dryden allegedly spat on a detention center officer.
Dryden is expected to appear before Judge Dan Wilson in Flathead County District Court for her arraignment on May 11.
If convicted of felony assault on a peace officer, the most serious charge, Dryden faces between two and 10 years in state prison and a $50,000 fine.
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