Resler receives 10-year sentence

A drunk driver convicted of running down two Flathead Valley teenagers near Plains last March was given a 10-year sentence Tuesday to the Montana Department of Corrections.

District Court Judge Kim Christopher recommended Daniel Wade Resler, 33, serve at least 13 months of that time in Montana State Prison.

At the discretion of the Department of Corrections, Resler after prison could be ordered to undergo a six- to 13-month treatment regimen for felony DUI offenders at Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs and serve time at a pre-release center after prison or on intensely supervised probation.

He will be under court supervision until he is 73.

Resler pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular homicide after killing 19-year-old Brad Michael Williams of Somers and 16-year-old Kyle David McCullugh of Kalispell as they walked to a convenience store. His blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit.

Christopher handed down the sentence to a packed courtroom after throwing out the plea agreement Resler and his attorney made with Sanders County Attorney Coleen I. Magera. Even though she originally accepted its validity, Christopher said Tuesday that the deal failed to take into account prison time for both victims.

The original plea bargain had called for Resler to receive two 30-year prison sentences, each with 25 years suspended, to run concurrently. He was to be incarcerated for at least one year before becoming eligible for the WATCh program and then placement in a pre-release center or other intensive supervision program.

Instead, Christopher ordered Resler to serve two 20-year sentences, each with 15 years suspended, to run consecutively. She also forbade Resler from consuming alcohol for the rest of his life and required him to submit to urinalysis tests for alcohol on any request from law enforcement. Resler waived his right for law enforcement to show reasonable cause when requesting the tests.

Family members of the victims, however, have said they believe Resler should serve one year in prison for every year of life he took. “I have no say,” said an emotionally exhausted Carla Hayek, Brad Williams' mother. “I just hope he gets well and doesn't hurt anybody else.”

Hayek, whose family all wore blue T-shirts emblazoned with the words “We Love You Brad,” took the stand to ask the court for an appropriate penalty with a picture of her son.

“Dan Resler, I don't want you to fry. I don't want you to hang. I just want you to mourn,” she said. “On behalf of my baby, please give us justice and peace of heart.”

Despite it being thrown out, Magera asked the court to sentence Resler to the terms of the plea arrangement. Defense attorneys recommended two 15-year sentences, each with 12-years suspended, to run consecutively.

Christopher told the gallery she reached her final sentencing decision after taking into account several factors, including a compromised blood sample taken from Resler after the crash, what she considered Resler's non-extensive criminal history with alcohol, the wishes of the victims' families, and the fact that Resler - who declined to withdraw his guilty plea even though the plea agreement was rejected - stood naked before the mercy of the court.

- Records show the Montana Highway Patrol requested Sanders County Sheriff's deputies contact Resler at the hospital to obtain a blood sample, and that the sample was taken to the state crime lab in Missoula for analysis on March 5. Montana Highway Patrol trooper and lead investigator Tony Cox testified Tuesday that the blood sample was left by the deputy outside of his custody at the nurse's station without being sealed and labeled as evidence, thus breaking the chain of custody.

- Resler, who has an admitted alcohol problem, has prior convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol per se, which requires no additional proof of impairment other than a driver's blood alcohol level exceeded .08, and reckless driving. Family members told the court about the impact the boys' deaths has had on their lives.

“It has killed something inside of me that can never be awakened,” said Joanne Simmes, Kyle's grandmother. “He was special… Our world will never be the same again.”

Other testimony included accusations that Magera's office virtually ignored the families of the victims, reached the plea bargain without notifying them or asking their input. Family members have said they think the case has been mishandled from the start. Lon Hayek, Brad Williams' stepfather, said he had only ever seen the back of Magera's head.

“You are not remorseful,” he told Resler. “I don't believe that one iota.”

But Magera said her office wrote the families 12 letters, made 92 phone calls, and held 9 personal meetings - adding that she takes her obligation to protect the community seriously.

Leo McCullugh, Kyle McCullugh's father, said after the hearing he would like to see a strict statutory minimum for people convicted of vehicular homicide while under the influence.

“Something needs to be done with the state laws,” he said.

Resler was supported by a contingent of family and friends, including his mother.

“I've listened to a lot of people today and it's tearing my heart up,” said Doug Padden, a friend of Resler's and high school coach. “He's the kind of friend most men would want to have. He would be there for you… I'd sure hate to see his life wasted too.”

Maria Helterline, a dispatcher for the U.S. Forest Service who said she has known Resler for 12 years, told the court she would welcome Resler back into the community after his sentence is over.

“He's selfless,” she said. “He's always been giving of his time and never asked for anything in return.”

Resler himself addressed the court, apologizing to the victims and their families.

“There's no excuse for what happened that night. I regret to no end the decision to drive home,” he said, adding that he wished he could go back in time. “All I can hope for is to help people in the future from making the same mistakes I did.”

According to the Montana Highway Patrol, Resler was driving a 2003 Dodge pickup truck westbound on Montana 200 just before 2 a.m. on the morning of March 3, 2007.

Williams, of Somers, was in Plains visiting McCullugh when the car the boys were driving broke down, said Hayek. So McCullugh's grandmother gave the pair a ride to their destination, the home of another friend.

While waiting for their friend to arrive, Williams and McCullugh decided to make a junk food run to a nearby convenience store.

At a curve about a mile east of Plains, Resler drifted off the right side of the highway and struck the boys - who were walking in the gravel on the side of the road, also westbound. McCullugh was found lying 20 feet away from the highway and 60 feet away from Williams.

After the collision, Resler traveled for some distance with three of his four tires off the pavement. He then appears to have overcorrected, traveled back across both lanes of traffic, and rolled the truck into a ditch on the highway's south side. Williams died at the scene; McCullugh was flown to St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula, where he died May 5.

A driver who minutes earlier passed the boys about a quarter mile past Henry Creek told investigators said she saw Williams and McCullugh walking far enough off the roadway she did not feel the need to switch lanes to pass them.

The sentence also has a community service component that will require Resler to clean a one-mile stretch of Montana 200 near where the collision occurred, make $100 donations in the names of Williams and McCullugh annually to the Montana chapter of Mothers against Drunk Driving, and work with either that organization or local schools on drinking and driving education for the next decade.

Resler was out cleaning the stretch of Montana 200 where the accident occurred near the anniversary of the crash, even before he was sentenced to do so, his attorney said.