A St. Paul police officer admitted in court to driving drunk this past November and crashing into several vehicles with his pickup, authorities say.

Cory James Kochendorfer, 38, of Woodbury pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree driving while intoxicated at a plea hearing Monday in Ramsey County District Court.

A second drinking and driving charge previously facing Kochendorfer was dropped as part of a plea deal.

Kochendorfer’s attorney, Charles Clas, could not be immediately reached for comment Monday.

A state trooper responded to the scene of a crash near Fairview and Hague avenues in St. Paul last Nov. 13 to find six damaged cars and one drunk driving suspect — the St. Paul police officer, according to court documents.

The trooper noticed “the faint odor of an alcoholic beverage and other signs of intoxication about the driver,” the complaint said.

Kochendorfer initially admitted to drinking only one beer, but after failing the standard field sobriety tests, he confessed to drinking five, according to legal documents.

He still had a 0.24 blood alcohol concentration 2 hours and 23 minutes after the accident. The legal limit for driving in Minnesota is 0.08.

Kochendorfer has been a St. Paul police officer since 2005 and was working in the department’s narcotics unit at the time of his arrest.

He has since been reassigned to its Property Crimes Unit, according to a police spokesman.

After entering his guilty plea Monday, a Ramsey County District judge ordered him to serve 30 days in jail. The rest of his 365 day sentence was stayed for four years provided Kochendorfer complies with the terms of his probation.