Andrea Fisher

anfisher@greatfallstribune.com

A woman apparently looking to satisfy what must have been a serious frozen yogurt craving left a local coffee shop in handcuffs Wednesday, charged with a DUI.

Charlene Kranitz, 66, made the mistake of choosing the “Coffee with a Cop” community event venue, Schulte’s Coffeehouse, for her fro-yo run. The place was crawling with cops.

According to information from the Great Falls Police Department, Kranitz walked past approximately 15 uniformed officers from five different law enforcement agencies to get to the frozen yogurt machines. One of those officers was GFPD Lt. Doug Mahlum.

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Mahlum noticed she appeared to be stumbling, then as Kranitz walked by, he smelled “the unmistakable odor of metabolized alcohol,” according to the GFPD Facebook page.

Mahlum followed Kranitz to the parking lot and established she had driven to Schulte’s, as her vehicle was resting against a light pole. He placed her into his vehicle after establishing she was “well over the legal limit.”

When Mahlum asked Kranitz if she noticed the 15 or so police officers in the coffeehouse, she said “yes.”

The hunt for fro-yo can be very distracting, and then there’s the endless flavor and topping decisions to make.

“I was completely shocked,” Mahlum said later, noting his patrol car was parked in front of the building — lights flashing.

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Kranitz was arrested for misdemeanor DUI and taken to the Cascade County Detention Center.

Ironic DUI arrest aside, the GFPD reports the event was a “huge success” with more than 140 community members stopping by to chat with officers from the different agencies.