Update: Deputy prosecutor resigns after arrest for DUI on I-182 in Pasco

A Franklin County deputy prosecutor has resigned after being arrested Friday for driving while intoxicated in Pasco.

Joseph V. Faurholt, 37, quit earlier this week, Prosecutor Shawn Sant confirmed.

Faurholt was hired in 2023 and prosecuted felony criminal cases. He was also part of Franklin County’s therapeutic court system.

The Washington State Patrol was called about 11:15 a.m. on Friday by a woman who said a black Ford Expedition had kicked up a rock and chipped her windshield along with nearly colliding with her, according to an affidavit by Trooper Anselmo Sanchez.

She reported they were just past the Road 68 exit in the westbound lanes.

When the trooper arrived, he learned the Expedition had nearly hit her as they took the ramp from Highway 395 to Interstate 182.

“She observed Faurholt driving on the center skip line between the two lanes of travel,” Sanchez wrote.

As she continued to follow, she smelled something burning, then saw his left front tire blow out.

“I asked Faurholt what happened,” Sanchez wrote. “He began to describe what had happened, but none of it made sense. (His) speech was slurred and lethargic.”

The trooper described Faurholt’s eyes as looking watery and bloodshot.

He asked Faurholt to step out of the SUV, and then discovered the deputy prosecutor was barefoot.

Faurholt agreed to do some field sobriety tests. A portable breathlyzer test showed a 0% blood-alcohol level, said the affidavit.

The trooper asked Faurholt to perform another test that required him to close his eyes and count backwards. That allegedly showed signs he was impaired, court documents said.

Sanchez arrested him and Faurholt agreed to have his blood drawn for testing. Later he was booked into the Franklin County jail.

The charge is filed in Franklin County District Court and is being prosecuted by Pasco municipal attorneys.

Washington State Bar Association records show Faurholt became an attorney in 2018.

He left the Pacific County Superior Court in 2023 after several months on administrative leave because of performance issues, according to a story in the Chinook Observer.

This story was originally published December 4, 2025 at 3:41 PM.