A former Maine Department of Health and Human Services employee accused of drunken driving in 2016 pleaded guilty Tuesday to a lesser reckless driving charge, according to the Lewiston Sun Journal.
The plea in Franklin County Court came after Joan Smyrski, the former associate director for treatment and recovery with the Maine Office of Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services, withdrew a guilty plea for operating under the influence entered last January, the paper reported.
The 63-year-old originally entered the drunken driving plea as part of an agreement to delay her sentencing for a year, according to the paper.
Smyrski of Jefferson was arrested on Sept. 25, 2016, for drunken driving after a deputy pulled her over for driving erratically.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services website at the time, she worked as the assistant director of community services for child care licensing, out of home investigations, the Maine medical marijuana program, behavioral health and substance abuse, and workforce development.
On Tuesday, she was sentenced to 48 hours in Franklin County Detention Center in Farmington or 96 hours in an alternative sentencing program, requiring her to complete community service in the Lewiston-Auburn area, according to the Sun Journal.
She has opted for the latter, her defense attorney said, and she also must pay a $1,000 fine and give up her driver’s license for 30 days, the paper reported.
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