Kansas Rep. Suzi Carlson officially facing DUI charges

TOPEKA (KSNT) - Rep. Suzi Carlson is officially facing charges related to her January DUI arrest in Topeka.

Topeka Municipal Court records show that Carlson is now facing two charges:

• Driving under the influence with a Blood Alcohol Content level of .08 or greater within three hours
• Failure to maintain a single lane

The update comes after Carlson's first appearance in municipal court on Tuesday, with Judge Karan Thadani presiding over the case. Officers with the Topeka Police Department stopped Carlson on Jan. 31 around 9 p.m. near Southwest 14th St. and Topeka Blvd. The department said its officers took her into custody on suspicion of DUI after "investigation and subsequent testing."

Carlson is the third Kansas lawmaker within a year to be put in handcuffs on DUI charges. Most recently, Rep. Aaron Coleman, D-Kansas City, was arrested for a suspected DUI in November. Sen. Gene Suellentrop, a Republican lawmaker from Wichita, also pleaded no contest to driving drunk in March 2021. Records from the investigation said he went 90 miles per hour fleeing law enforcement, going the wrong way on highways through Topeka.