Polson man pleads guilty to 9th DUI

POLSON (AP) — A 45-year-old Polson man who drove his car into Flathead Lake in an attempt to elude police has pleaded guilty to his ninth DUI.

Todd Burland entered his plea Wednesday before District Judge C.B. McNeil.

Burland was arrested on Nov. 5 after officers pulled him out of the lake and into a rescue boat.

Stevens says officers responded to a report that a vehicle was high-centered, but when officers arrived the vehicle was driving away. Officers pursued the vehicle as it drove through a park and into the lake. Officers say Burland got out of the vehicle and started swimming away from shore.

A plea agreement calls for Burland to be sentenced to 20 years with the Department of Corrections with 15 suspended when he is sentenced on April 3.