FARMINGTON — An assistant attorney general for the state pleaded guilty Tuesday through an attorney to driving under the influence on Aug. 5, 2023, in Wilton.

Defense attorney Matt Morgan of McKee Morgan in Augusta entered the plea on behalf of Paul Suitter, 36, of Portland.

Justice Jennifer Archer accepted the consent to proceed on the case without Suitter being there before the plea was entered.

Suitter was charged with the misdemeanor after Franklin County Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Morgan and Wilton police officer Stephen Charles each responded to a complaint about 7 p.m. on Aug. 5, 2023, of a possible intoxicated driver traveling south on the Weld Road toward Wilton. Both officers stopped the vehicle on Main Street in Wilton.

Suitter had previously pleaded not guilty in August 2023.

Archer sentenced Suitter to $1,000 fine and a 150-day loss of his driver’s license.

Morgan, who stood in for attorney Walter McKee in the Farmington District Court, said Suitter had already surrendered his driver’s license to the state.

“Paul took full and complete responsibility for what happened, and is looking forward to putting this matter behind him,” McKee wrote in an email to the Sun Journal.

A conviction for operating under the influence is punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.