Not-guilty plea entered in Susan West DUI case

Speaking in a voice so low that a judge had to ask her to speak up, Susan L. West had the court enter a not-guilty plea on her behalf today, a step that could lead to her facing a new trial on a drunken-driving charge.

West's history of drinking and driving includes being convicted of vehicular homicide in 1997 for causing the death of Mary Johnsen, who died after being struck by a minivan driven by West on the Sammamish Plateau.

At the time, a judge described West, now 48, as "a human bomb" and cited her 20-year history of drunken-driving violations.

West served six years in prison, was released in 2003, and moved to an apartment in the Newport Hills area.

That's close to where she was about 12:15 a.m. June 18, according to court papers filed today as part of her arraignment on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with a third-degree suspended license.

West was scheduled to appear for arraignment on the charges last week, but the hearing was continued because she was determined to be too ill to be transported; court records indicate she was being held in a detoxification center at the King County jail infirmary.

West was brought to the Bellevue District Court in a white transport van this morning and nearly inaudibly answered a series of questions from Judge Janet Garrow.

Among her answers, West said she was living off savings, owned a 1998 car, had $160,000 in stocks and bonds, and didn't have an attorney.

Garrow then appointed Howard Stein, a Bellevue attorney, to act as her public defender for today's session alone, advised her of her rights, and asked how she pleaded.

Stein conferred briefly with West and then said his client would ask the court to enter a plea for her.

Garrow entered a not-guilty plea, adding that a pre-trial hearing will be scheduled in about two weeks.

During that time, West either will have to hire an attorney or go through a screening process to determine whether she is eligible to be represented by a public defender, Garrow said.

West, with her arms and legs fastened by fabric restraints, later was returned to the van and taken to the King County jail, where she's being held in lieu of $150,000 bail.

A probable-cause affidavit entered into the court record today offers new details the night of the arrest and how a broken rear license-plate light first drew police attention.

The Bellevue officer was in a parking lot at the Newport Hills shopping center when the officer saw a black Buick driving slowly through the lot, with no rear license light.

The officer tried to stop the Buick, turning on emergency lights and a siren.

After the stop was made, the driver was identified as West and a records check showed she had a license that had been suspended because of canceled insurance for a vehicular-homicide conviction, according to the affidavit. The records check also showed West was a convicted felon, was under active Department of Corrections supervision, was a violent offender and had been arrested for vehicular homicide.

The officer also said West had a strong odor of alcohol on her breath, was unsteady on her feet and tried to get out of the Buick without first unfastening her safety belt.

She was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license and was taken to the Bellevue Police Department, where she refused to submit to a blood-alcohol test, according to the affidavit.

Peyton Whitely: 206-464-2259 or pwhitely@seattletimes.com