Aaron Miller

Northwest College has parted ways with soccer coach Aaron Miller, who’s currently facing legal trouble.

Miller joined NWC as the women’s soccer coach in 2019 — and he was set to lead both the men’s and women’s teams in the upcoming spring season, which begins in less than two months. However, the 39-year-old’s employment with the college ended Friday.

Miller’s exit came two months after he drove his truck into a ditch in rural Powell and was arrested on suspicion of driving while under the influence of alcohol — and that December arrest came only about a month after he’d been put on probation for a September hit-and-run crash.

In a Friday interview, NWC Interim President Lisa Watson said the college was aware of the pending criminal allegations against Miller. Watson added that there are several factors involved when the college makes any personnel decision.

In the case of Miller, “there’s enough things, and some different things, that have come up,” Watson said. “And when we looked into it a little closer, we decided it would be in the best interest of the college to kind of move in a different direction with that position. So that’s what we’re doing.”

“We wish him good luck in his future endeavors, of course,” Watson added, “but we always are trying to keep the interests of the students and college in mind — and we have to do that as an employer.”

The Tribune was unable to reach Miller for comment on Monday.

The Park County Attorney’s Office is currently prosecuting Miller for an alleged Dec. 11 DUI and is seeking to revoke Miller’s probation from a Sept. 16 crash.

Miller pleaded not guilty to the DUI charge during a hearing last month in Park County Circuit Court. He also denied violating the terms of his probation from the earlier case.

“I’ve advised him to deny it at this point in time,” Miller’s attorney, Michael Vang of Laramie, told the court.

In the September incident, Miller reportedly destroyed a city stop sign and continued driving — leaving behind a 1.7-mile-long skid mark through town, Powell police say.

Officer Braden Hancock had spotted the tire marks around 3 a.m. and followed them to Miller’s GMC Sierra, parked in the 1200 block of West Seventh Street. Miller explained his truck was not driving correctly, according to Hancock’s report, and that he’d pulled over to call a friend for a ride. The police officer spotted the problem — noticing damage to the front passenger side that had pushed the Sierra’s tire to the rear of the wheel well.

Miller said someone had sideswiped his vehicle while he was drinking at a downtown bar, the police report indicates, but officers traced the skid marks back to a broken stop sign on the corner of Clark and Third streets.

Hancock smelled alcohol on Miller’s breath and said the driver’s eyes appeared red and glassy; however, Miller reportedly refused to submit to field sobriety tests and the officer couldn’t detect any other signs of impairment.

Miller was ultimately cited for property destruction and failing to notify the owner after a collision with unattended property. On Nov. 3, Circuit Court Judge Bruce Waters ordered him to pay $520 in court fines and fees and $166 to the City of Powell to replace the sign; a total of 14 days of jail time was suspended in favor of six months of supervised probation.

Then, around 5:20 p.m. on Dec. 11, Miller drove his Sierra partway into a ditch at the intersection of Road 11 and Lane 8.

Miller said he’d been trying to make a U-turn while talking on the phone, and that his tire had gotten caught on the edge of the ditch, according to an affidavit composed by Park County Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Lawler. Miller reportedly said he hadn’t been drinking, but “I observed him to be unbalanced, his eyes to be bloodshot and glassy,” Deputy Lawler wrote. “His speech was slurred, slow and deliberate.”

After being taken to Powell Valley Hospital for treatment, Miller refused to provide a blood sample to test his alcohol content, the affidavit says, reportedly saying it would go against his religion.

When Miller was later arrested, “he then asked me if I thought he would really drink and drive,” Lawler wrote. “I told him that based on my observations he did drive while impaired.”

At the Park County Detention Center, Miller provided breath samples that reportedly pegged his blood alcohol content at 0.203% — more than double the legal limit of 0.08%. He was released from jail the following day and has since remained free on his own recognizance while the two misdemeanor cases are pending.

A trial in the DUI case has tentatively been scheduled for April 8 with the probation revocation likely on hold until the case is resolved.

Meanwhile, Watson said Athletic Director Brian Erickson was asked to step in and support the soccer teams “from the very moment that we really had any sort of concern,” with additional help from assistant coaches and Interim Vice President of Student Services Dee Havig.

“There’s a good group of people there that have been keeping the program going, looking at the recruiting, making sure all of our protocols are being followed for COVID,” Watson said, “just doing all those things that we would need to have done to make sure that the athletes are being supported, and the program is running along, and that we’re going to continue to be ready for the season to start — and be prepared for the next season.”

The NWC soccer teams typically play in the fall, but COVID-19 led the NJCAA to push the 2020 season to the spring. The Trappers are set to start the season April 7 at Casper College.