A Packwood woman accused of driving drunk on eastbound U.S. Highway 12 in May 2021 was charged with felony DUI on Friday after the results of her blood draw came back from the Washington State Patrol Toxicology Lab.
The blood draw was taken the day of the alleged incident, May 21, 2021, after the suspect, Justine A. Hensley, 30, refused to cooperate with voluntary standardized field sobriety tests and a breath test.
A Washington State Patrol trooper had pulled over Hensley’s vehicle, a red Volkswagen Beetle, after he reportedly saw it driving erratically near milepost 70 of U.S. Highway 12. The trooper reportedly smelled “a strong odor of alcohol/intoxicants” coming from Hensley when he spoke to her in her vehicle, according to court documents.
When she declined the field sobriety tests, the trooper arrested her for DUI and brought her to the Lewis County Jail, where she refused the breath test. The trooper then secured a warrant for a blood draw, which was done at Providence Centralia Hospital. The samples were sent to the Washington State Patrol Toxicology Lab and Hensley was released from jail.
The results of that blood draw came back from the toxicology lab nearly two years later, in April 2023, and showed Hensley’s blood sample had an alcohol content between .21 and .25 — over twice the legal limit of .08 — according to court documents.
Hensley was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail at 2:20 p.m. on Thursday, April 13, and has since been charged with one count each of DUI, third-degree driving with a suspended/revoked license and violation of ignition interlock.
Because Hensley’s criminal history includes three prior DUI convictions — two in Lewis County in 2019 and one in Grays Harbor County in 2023 — the current DUI charge was filed as a class B felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
A Lewis County Superior Court judge set Hensley’s bail at $20,000 on Friday, citing concerns about her DUI history.
Hensley is also being held at the Lewis County Jail on unrelated Lewis County District Court charges, which carry a total bail amount of $6,000.
Her arraignment hearing in the Lewis County Superior Court case is scheduled for Thursday, April 20.
