Outgoing state Rep. Carl Maughan of Colwich on Monday pleaded no contest to driving under the influence following a Memorial Day weekend crash that left him seriously hurt.
A spokesperson for Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said Maughan was sentenced to one year of probation and fined $750 with a controlling sentence of six months in jail, and a fine of $1,000.
If Maughan violates any of the terms of his probation, he can be ordered to serve the balance of the six month jail term and pay the balance of the fine, the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said a second traffic charge – failure to check for safe passage before passing in a single lane – was dismissed.
The Sedgwick County sheriff’s office ticketed Maughan for allegedly driving under the influence on May 25 in Colwich over Memorial Day weekend, less than three months after he was charged with DUI in Shawnee County.
Maughan had already pleaded no contest to the first offense DUI that arose from a traffic stop in Topeka last March, court records show.
The DUI charge in Sedgwick County arose from a single-vehicle injury accident in Colwich at the intersection of West 29th Street North and 151st Street West at about 7:30 p.m.
The Republican lawmaker said in a recent interview that he was seriously injured in the May 25 car wreck.
He said he spent three days in an intensive care unit. He said he fractured his sternum, broke nine ribs and suffered a concussion.
“I was pretty laid up for a while,” he said.
Maughan blamed his legal troubles on personal and family strife.
He said he’s abstained from drinking alcohol for more than four months and has been attending group meetings during that time.
He said he’s been attending personal counseling and has entered into intensive alcohol treatment.
“This is an ongoing process which will continue for the foreseeable future,” Maughan said in a statement.
The latest charge comes on top of Maughan pleading no contest to first offense DUI that arose from a traffic stop in Topeka last March.
A Shawnee County judge dismissed three other charges: possession of a firearm while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, failure to signal a lane change and failure to maintain a single lane.
The Shawnee County magistrate judge fined Maughan $750 and sentenced him to three months in jail.
But Maughan was given six months of unsupervised probation and as long as he complies with the drug and alcohol recommendations, he won’t serve time in jail.
Maughan remained on the ballot during the primary election even though he didn’t actively campaign for reelection. He is now serving out the last months of his term in office.
Former state Rep. Steve Huebert of Valley Center won the primary in House District 90.
He faces Democrat Tracy Edingfield in the general election.
In June, the Kansas Supreme Court suspended Maughan from practicing law for a year because of violating rules of professional conduct.
Maughan faced a suspension after being accused of misconduct while representing a client in a deadly 2016 crash in Wichita that claimed two lives.
The court also required the Colwich lawmaker to undergo a hearing before his petition for reinstatement will be considered by the Supreme Court.
