MARYSVILLE — Rob Toyer, a Marysville city councilman, says he has taken responsibility for his DUI arrest in December.
The 35-year-old recently pleaded guilty to DUI. Earlier this month, he served one day in the Snohomish County Jail in Everett. Another 363 days of jail time were suspended so long as Toyer stays out of legal trouble, court papers show.
“This has been a big learning lesson for me and something I’ve grown from,” Toyer said in a prepared statement. “I hope that others can learn and not make the same mistake that I did. I’m looking forward to moving on and continuing to serve in my community.”
Toyer has been on the City Council since 2011 and won re-election in November. He lives in the Sunnyside area of south Marysville and owns a wealth-management firm and an insurance company business in Lake Stevens.
He was arrested Dec. 12 during a traffic stop along Highway 9 in Lake Stevens. A breath test for blood-alcohol content produced a result of .178, more than double the legal limit to drive of .08. Toyer was charged in January. He pleaded guilty in late August, about a week before the trial was scheduled to start.
“I regret the events that happened last December,” Toyer said in his statement. “It was an embarrassment to myself and my family to make a poor decision like that. It’s something that hasn’t and won’t happen again. I’ve taken full responsibility and have done everything the court has asked me to do.”
Earlier reports say a Washington State Patrol sergeant reported seeing a man in a Subaru Legacy driving erratically as the car turned onto northbound Highway 9 from 92nd Ave. NE at Frontier Village. That was just after 1 a.m. Dec. 12.
“He entered the curve much too fast and drifted onto the clearly marked gore point that separates the curb from the northbound State Route main line,” said Sgt. Mark Francis, a spokesman for the State Patrol.
The Subaru reportedly was swerving in and out of the lane and crossed into the median, Francis said. The driver then braked and stopped on the highway before continuing northbound.
At that point, the sergeant turned on his emergency lights and pulled over the Subaru near the intersection with Highway 204.
As the sergeant approached the car, he saw Toyer at the wheel. He was putting a piece of gum in his mouth and apparently dropped a second piece on the floorboard, Francis said.
“It took considerable effort for him to get the window down,” Francis said.
The sergeant wrote in his report that Toyer “appeared completely out of it,” Francis said. “He swayed to his left and right while seated in the driver’s seat.”
Toyer reportedly said he didn’t remember coming to a stop on the highway. He also allegedly could not remove his driver’s license from his wallet. At that point, Toyer was asked to get out of the car. He was described as unsteady on his feet.
“He had a hard time holding his head up,” Francis said. “His breath reeked of alcohol.”
When asked how much he had to drink, Toyer reportedly replied, “not a thing.” He declined to take a breath-alcohol test or other sobriety tests on the roadside, saying, “because I don’t have to.”
He was arrested for investigation of DUI and taken to the Lake Stevens Police Department for processing. After speaking with a lawyer, Toyer submitted to multiple breath-alcohol tests.
Toyer’s car was impounded, and he was driven home. That is a common step when someone has been arrested on suspicion of DUI but doesn’t have prior DUIs or other criminal history, Francis said.
