Grand Isle State’s Attorney Doug DiSabito speaks in the Grand Isle Superior criminal court in July 2024. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger The drunken driving case against Grand Isle County State’s Attorney Douglas DiSabito is being referred to a court diversion program, according to cour t records.  DiSabito was arrested in April after police alleged he showed up at the Franklin County Superior Court in St. Albans displaying signs of intoxication, court records stated. Later, according to the court documents, a breath test revealed DiSabito had an alcohol concentration of 0.084%, higher than the 0.08% legal limit for driving in Vermont. DiSabito had pleaded not guilty to the charge in May. However, according to court records, the criminal case against DiSabito is being referred to a court diversion program.  Court diversion allows qualified defendants to resolve their criminal cases through a community justice program, rather than in the court system. The program allows participants to avoid a criminal conviction while working to repair the harm they caused to the community if they successfully complete the program. News of the criminal case going to diversion was included in a court filing last week in DiSabito’s civil suspension case, a separate legal process that deals with a person’s driver’s license suspension following an arrest for drunken driving. DiSabito, according to the court filing, admitted to civil suspension, meaning he would not be challenging it. “Now comes the Defendant, Douglas DiSabito, who hereby gives notice to the Court that he admits to the Civil Suspension matter,” the one-paragraph filing stated. “The State will be sending the criminal case to Diversion.” The document, dated July 1, is signed by DiSabito, his attorney Karen Shingler, and Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George, the prosecutor. The Chittenden County State’s Attorney Office took on the case after the Franklin County State’s Attorney’s Office decided not to because of a conflict of interest. DiSabito, in response Tuesday to questions, provided an emailed statement similar to another he had shared on social media. In the statement, DiSabito wrote about the toll the work as state’s attorney has taken on him in his 12 years in the post. “In this job, we are exposed to the worst parts of humanity,” he wrote. “You see horrific scenes. We read disturbing reports. We hear devastating stories,” DiSabito added. “We endure images and facts that do not leave you when the day is over. Over time, that kind of repeated exposure to the trauma and suffering of others can deeply affect a person.” In addition, he wrote about other personal struggles, including coping with ailing family members and placing his father in a nursing home.  “Altogether, the weight became overwhelming,” DiSabito wrote. “Instead of asking for help, I tried to cope on my own,” he added. “I made the mistake of trying to self-medicate with alcohol. That was wrong, and I take responsibility for it.” He wrote that he wasn’t sharing such details in search of sympathy. “Strength is not denying pain. Strength is facing it honestly,” DiSabito wrote. “I remain committed to healing, to accountability, and to serving with integrity. And I hope that by speaking openly, others will know they are not alone.” George, in an email Tuesday, said she couldn’t comment on the DiSabito case. “Once a case is sent to diversion it becomes confidential, so I cannot make any statements related directly to this case,” George wrote. George wrote in response to questions that “generally as a matter of practice” DUI cases are often sent to diversion when a person has no prior criminal history, the evidentiary breath test is relatively low, and the person admits to a civil suspension.  “This is common practice in Chittenden County and general practice in other counties as well,” George wrote. “We do not send these cases to diversion if there is a victim, if the person refuses to admit to the civil suspension, or if the person has any prior history of alcohol-related offenses.” Also, George wrote, for a person who took a breath test a civil suspension of a driver’s license for a first offense, DUI, is 90 days. If a person refused to take a breath test, then the license suspension is for six months, George added. The resolution of DiSabito’s drunken driving case differs from the drunken driving case against Addison County State’s Attorney Eva Vekos. Vekos, in December, pleaded no contest to a drunken driving charge following her arrest in January 2024 when police alleged she drove to a suspicious death scene impaired. The Vermont Attorney General’s Office prosecuted Vekos’ case. Her sentence was deferred for six months, allowing her conviction to be cleared from her record provided she abided by the terms of her probation for that period. Vekos also did not challenge her civil suspension, and because she refused a breath test, her driver’s license was suspended for six months. Last month, the criminal conviction was stricken from her record. The Vermont Professional Responsibility, which oversees lawyers in the state, has started disciplinary proceedings against Vekos that center on both her conduct during her arrest as well after it. The Vermont Supreme Court temporarily suspended her law license earlier this year as those disciplinary proceedings play out. Vekos is not running for reelection this year. DiSabito is currently running uncontested for reelection. Clarification: This story has been updated to reflect that the statement from Grand Isle County State’s Attorney Douglas DiSabito differed in some words from a statement he previously shared on social media. Read the story on VTDigger here: Grand Isle prosecutor’s DUI case heading to court diversion, court records state. ...read more read less