EVERETT — Everett City Councilman Mark Olson must abstain from drinking alcohol and remain under court supervision until 2010 as part of an agreement reached today.
Olson, 52, appeared in Cascade District Court to answer to an allegation that he violated terms of an agreement that allowed him to seek treatment in lieu of prosecution after a 2003 drunken driving arrest.
A probation supervisor raised the question that Olson violated terms of the agreement after police opened an investigation into allegations Olson sexually assaulted a woman in June after an evening of drinking.
That sexual assault allegation remains under investigation by the Washington State Patrol and the Skagit County Prosecutor’s Office.
Snohomish County District Court Judge Jay Wisman on Monday came to an agreement with Olson that extended the time the councilman must be under court supervision. Olson had one more year remaining on a five-year period of court supervision in the drunken driving case. That was extended until 2010.
Olson’s attorney Bill Bowman argued that Olson was told by his attorney and a mental health provider that he was allowed to resume drinking.
“He was not thumbing his nose at the court,” Bowman said.
Regardless, Olson was responsible for understanding the terms of the agreement, Wisman said. One of the most important conditions of the deferred prosecution for an alcohol-related offense is that the defendant abstain from alcohol, the judge said.
Wisman said he assumed that Olson has been drinking socially for about two years. He asked Olson to make up the time instead of going to jail.
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