Former Corbin police officer, city commission candidate pleads guilty to DUI

A former local police officer and Corbin City Commission candidate has agreed to plead guilty to a DUI charge related to his arrest in May by Kentucky State Police.

Bronson Fugate, 35, pleaded guilty to first-offense DUI in Laurel District Court last Wednesday, the day he was scheduled to stand trial on that charge and two other minor traffic offenses.

Judge Julia Hylton Adams accepted the plea and sentenced Fugate to 30 days in jail, probated for two years. His license to drive is suspended for 30 days and he was ordered to pay $719 in fines and court costs.

Fugate was also ordered to complete alcohol abuse treatment classes.

Fugate was arrested in the early morning hours of May 17 after allegedly attempting to avoid a Kentucky State Police traffic checkpoint on Old U.S. 25 and Slate Ridge at about 12:35 a.m. According to a KSP arrest citation, Fugate spotted the check and then turned into a driveway without signaling, prompting Trooper Steve Smallwood to investigate.

Authorities say Fugate stepped out of his car smelling like alcohol. Smallwood conducted several field sobriety tests, and a portable Breathalyzer test on Fugate, all of which he failed. Smallwood said Fugate told him he’d consumed "about nine beers" before he was stopped.

After being arrested and taken to the London Police Department, Fugate refused to take an Intoxilyzer Breath test after attempting to contact two local attorneys. Under Kentucky law, refusal to take the test when asked by police results in a mandatory 30-day license suspension.

Fugate was also charged with failure to signal and failure to notify a change of address with the Department of Transportation. Both of those charges were dismissed after prosecutor’s made a motion to drop them.

Fugate is a former Corbin City Police officer and also served as a deputy for the Laurel County Sheriff’s Department. He ran for a seat on the Corbin City Commission in 2006 but was defeated.