A State Senator who was convicted of being drunk while driving the wrong way on I-70 will resign. Senator Gene Suellentrop, a Republican from Wichita, will step down in January.
Shawnee County District Court documents show Suellentrop also was released early from his probation in the case. Suellentrop was Senate Majority Leader when he was arrested. Court documents stated he was caught in the early morning hours of March 16, 2021, driving 90 miles per hour on I-70, going the wrong way, and barely missing several vehicles. Court documents at the time says he raced to avoid police and later called an officer “donut boy” and said he could “take” the officer in a fight.
Suellentrop entered “no contest” pleas to charges of drunk driving and reckless driving. In exchange, prosecutors dropped a felony charge of fleeing law enforcement. A felony conviction would have ended his time in public office. The judge suspended a six-month prison term, and instead ordered Suellentrop to serve two days in jail and spend one year on Supervised Probation.
