Idaho Fish & Game biologist arrested after allegedly drunk driving on the job
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ASHTON — A biologist with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game was reportedly arrested after police say he was driving drunk in a work truck.
Benjamin Martin, 30, is charged with a misdemeanor for excessive driving under the influence. According to his LinkedIn, he has worked at the Idaho Fish and Game Upper Snake District since December 2024 as a fisheries biologist.
James Brower, the Regional Communications Manager for the Idaho Department of Fish & Game, declined to comment on the charges, citing it as a personnel matter, but confirmed that Martin is no longer an employee of Idaho Fish and Game.
According to police reports, on April 17, around 11:55 a.m., an Ashton Police Department officer had just finished a traffic stop at the intersection of US Highway 20 and Idaho Street when they were approached by a woman who said she had just seen a gray Chevy pickup truck “swerving badly” on the road.
She said the truck had just pulled into a grocery store parking lot on US-20.
The officer responded to the parking lot and found a gray Chevy Silverado with an Idaho Fish and Game-marked logo. The driver of the truck reportedly came out of the grocery store, got back into the truck, and began driving north. The officer followed the truck and observed it cross the solid shoulder line twice and continuously “weave” between lanes.
The truck reportedly turned east onto Fisherman’s Drive and pulled into Jump Off Canyon Boat Dock, and parked in an “evading manner”, says court documents.
The truck then turned around and headed west on Fisherman’s Drive toward US-20, then north. At this point, the officer says the truck was crossing passing lanes without using a turn signal and weaving within the lane.
The officer initiated a traffic stop near milepost 368 and approached the driver’s side of the truck, where he asked the driver to roll down the window. The driver, instead, opened the door. The officer asked the driver whether his window didn’t work, to which he replied that it did work but that he just “opened the door instead.”
The officer instructed the driver to shut the door and open the window, and told him that someone had complained about his driving, and he had seen him swerving between lanes. The officer then identified the man as Martin.
Martin was asked if he had been drinking, to which he said he had “2 IPA beers about 6 hours ago.” He was then asked to complete a standard field sobriety test, which he reportedly failed.
Officers conducted a breathalyzer test on Martin, which resulted in a .201 BAC on the first test and a .211 BAC on the second. The legal limit is .08.
Martin was then arrested and booked into the Fremont County Jail on a $500 bond, which he paid and was released.
He is expected to appear for a pre-trial hearing on June 10. If convicted, he could face up to six months in county jail, monetary fines, and a driver’s license suspension.
Though Martin has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.