A Hailey man faces up to 10 years in state prison if found guilty of felony driving under the influence, a charge he picked up following a traffic stop at the Main and Bullion street intersection in Hailey.
At 10:53 p.m. on March 4, Hailey Police Department Officer Jeremiah Linderman pulled over a black Dodge Ram truck that he had observed “turn west onto Bullion Street without using a blinker and [fail] to come to a complete stop,” according to a probable-cause for arrest affidavit Linderman filed with the court.
After stopping the vehicle, Linderman allegedly smelled alcohol from the interior. The driver, identified as 62-year-old Steven Dale Ferguson, presented with “bloodshot” eyes and “sustained nystagmus [visible jerkiness in eye movement],” the affidavit states.
Ferguson was arrested on suspicion of DUI after he allegedly lost balance and struggled to follow directions during field sobriety testing, Linderman stated. Ferguson was then transported to St. Luke’s Wood River Medical Center on a blood warrant for a blood sample after refusing a breathalyzer test.
Ferguson has two previous DUI convictions in Blaine County, one in 2015 and another in 2019, automatically elevating this most recent charge to a felony, Linderman stated. He was released on March 6 after posting $15,000 bond, according to court documents.
At Ferguson’s initial arraignment on March 6, Magistrate Jennifer Haemmerle ordered Ferguson to wear a SCRAM alcohol ankle monitor, install an ignition interlock device and test for alcohol at a high level throughout the pretrial release period. Public Defender Doug Nelson asked Haemmerle to remove the SCRAM unit because it interfered with Ferguson’s job; Haemmerle agreed to allow Ferguson to reaffix the device on April 10.
Ferguson entered a not-guilty plea through Nelson at his arraignment in District Court on May 1. A two-day jury trial is now scheduled to begin on Sept. 19. 
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