A Lander man charged with accidentally dragging another man underneath a sport utility vehicle while driving drunk has reached a plea agreement with prosecutors, his lawyer said Monday.

Doug Downs, 40, will plead guilty to separate charges of driving under the influence and driving under the influence causing serious bodily injury, according to his attorney, Don Fuller. Prosecutors, in turn, will dismiss an aggravated assault charge against Downs.

"I think the agreement allows us to take responsibility for what we did but eliminates the charges we felt we weren't guilty of," Fuller said.

The plea deal does not include an agreement on sentencing, Fuller said. Under Wyoming law, Downs could face the possibility of 10.5 years behind bars for the two charges involved in the plea agreement.

Natrona County District Attorney Michael Blonigen said he could not comment on the matter.

A change of plea hearing for Downs has been set for June 12 in Natrona County District Court, according to court documents filed last week.

Authorities say Downs was behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Tahoe that dragged Casper resident Jeff Irene for more than a mile through the city early in the morning on Dec. 30. Irene, 40, suffered massive internal injuries and spent more than four months in the hospital before returning home a little more than a week ago.

On the night in question, Downs was arrested twice. A few hours before the dragging incident, a state trooper jailed Downs on suspicion of driving under the influence. Tests taken just after midnight showed he had a blood alcohol concentration of .11, according to court records.

A person is considered too drunk to drive in Wyoming if his blood alcohol is .08 or above.

Court and jail records show that Downs posted a $550 bond for his release just before 1 a.m.

The bondsman signed a form accepting responsibility for downs, according to a jail document. That document did not spell out the scope of that responsibility.

According to a sworn statement by a Casper police officer, Downs told police that, after his release, he was dropped off two blocks from the Sandbar Lounge, where he drank half a beer. Afterward, he drove some friends to an Oak Street home.

Downs told police he discovered Irene lying in a ditch after arriving at the home.

Irene had apparently been dragged from the bar parking lot, although court documents don't specify what he was doing beforehand.

Downs remains free on $50,000 bond.

Reach Joshua Wolfson at (307) 266-0582 or at josh.wolfson@trib.com.

NewsTracker

Last we knew: A Lander man pleaded not guilty to felony charges in connection with the dragging of a Casper man in December.

The latest: An attorney for Doug Downs said his client has reached a plea agreement with prosecutors.

What's next: Downs is scheduled to appear in court next month for a change of plea hearing.