BRAINERD, Minn. (AP) — A 27-year-old Pequot Lakes man has been sentenced to nearly 14 years in prison for causing the drunken driving crash that killed a 16-year-old in Pequot Lakes in 2005.

Matthew Raymond Smoot pleaded guilty in Crow Wing County District Court to second-degree unintentional murder for the head-on crash that killed Joseph Jordan of Nisswa. He also pleaded guilty to felony drunken driving and two other counts. Under his plea agreement, the 13 remaining counts were dropped.
Smoot has been in custody since his arrest in July 2005. He'll be eligible for parole after serving a little over nine years.

He was driving southbound on Highway 371 at Crow Wing County Road 16 in Pequot Lakes when he crossed the center line and collided head-on with Jordan's vehicle. His blood-alcohol content tested at 0.29 percent, nearly triple the legal limit at the time of the crash.

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