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John Michael Montgomery's DUI Hearing Delayed

Associated Press
Published | Updated

LEXINGTON, Ky. – A pretrial conference in the drunken driving case against John Michael Montgomery was delayed Thursday because a prosecutor said he needed more time.

Jack Miller, assistant Fayette County attorney, and Montgomery's lawyers agreed to put off the conference until May 25. It had originally been set for last month, but Miller sought a delay, in part to review controversial postings on the arresting officer's Web site.

Miller said he might dismiss the drunken driving case.

"It's always a possibility, but that's something we have to look at from the standpoint of the entire evidence," he said.

Montgomery didn't appear in court.

According to a police report, the 41-year-old country singer disregarded a traffic light and smelled strongly of alcohol when he was arrested Feb. 16 after leaving the Austin City Saloon.

Montgomery is also charged with having two loaded handguns in his vehicle and carrying prescription drugs in an improper container. His attorneys have argued he has a permit for the guns and a prescription for the medicine, and Miller said he'll dismiss those charges if that proves to be true.

Officer Joshua Cromer's Web site included comments from other police officers congratulating him on the arrest as well as an altered picture of Montgomery and a fan, with Cromer's head superimposed over the fan's. Cromer was administratively charged and has apologized.

"It is a distraction, and certainly it's something that's out there," Miller said. "Whether or not that's going to have any effect, it's in the whole ball of wax. We just have to look at all of it put together."

Montgomery's attorney, Brent Caldwell, said the entire case should be dropped. Montgomery refused blood and breath tests, and there isn't enough supporting evidence of intoxication to get a conviction, Caldwell said.

Montgomery, a Kentucky native who has a home in Nicholasville, had several No. 1 hit singles on Warner Bros. Records in the 1990s including "I Love the Way You Love Me," "I Swear" and "Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)."