Columbia Falls woman sentenced for drunk driving after argument with husband leads to charges
A Columbia Falls woman who ended up charged for drunk driving after calling the police during an argument with her husband in a grocery store parking lot last spring later copped a plea deal.
Chelsea Lynn Ramstad, 29, summoned Columbia Falls Police officers to the parking lot about 6 p.m., April 27, 2025 in the hopes of removing her husband from the family car, according to court documents. When officers arrived, they found Ramstad, her husband and two children.
As Ramstad explained the reasons why she wanted her husband hauled off, officers smelled the odor of an alcoholic beverage on her, court documents said. They described her as unsteady on her feet, slurring and boasting bloodshot eyes.
When asked, Ramstad allegedly admitted drinking a beer. She agreed to perform a field sobriety test and provide a breath sample, which returned over the legal limit, court documents said.
After officers pulled surveillance footage capturing Ramstad parking the family vehicle at the supermarket, prosecutors charged her with a felony count of criminal child endangerment and a misdemeanor count of driving while license suspended or revoked. Ramstad pleaded not guilty before Judge Dan Wilson on May 15.
But Ramstad accepted a plea agreement with prosecutors in July. In exchange for guilty pleas to amended charges of felony criminal endangerment and driving under the influence, first offense, prosecutors agreed to recommend she receive a deferred two-year sentence for the former and a suspended six-month sentence for the latter.
Wilson kept to the terms of the agreement at Ramstad’s Oct. 23 sentencing and gave her credit for five days of time served. She was also ordered to pay various court fines and fees.
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