Topeka ? Sen. Ed Pugh wrote a letter of apology to arresting officers and promised to seek alcohol treatment as part of an agreement for his arrest on suspicion of drunken driving.

Pugh’s trial was scheduled for Tuesday in Topeka Municipal Court, but the Wamego Republican reached the diversion agreement with the Topeka prosecutor’s office a week ago. He had pleaded innocent in April.

Senate Majority Leader Lana Oleen faces similar charges for failing sobriety and Breathalyzer tests in February. A hearing for Oleen, R-Manhattan, is planned for June 11 in Shawnee County District Court.

Pugh, 53, was arrested on suspicion of DUI on Jan. 3, after being involved in a noninjury accident in downtown Topeka. Pugh had stopped at a stop sign and backed into a vehicle driven by a 17-year-old girl.

The agreement requires Pugh, who serves as vice chairman of the Judiciary Committee, to complete an alcohol treatment program within one year. He has four months to be evaluated for program placement.

The city prosecutor’s office also required Pugh to pay $819 in fees and fines.

He retained his driving privileges.

If Pugh is convicted of an alcohol-related charge within the year, he also will be convicted for the DUI charge from January.

Assistant City Prosecutor Larry Ganieany Jr. said he could not release Pugh’s blood-alcohol-content level, but said it was over the legal limit of .08 percent.

Diversion agreements are common for first-time offenders, Ganieany said. Pugh’s attorney, Leonard Robinson, agreed.

“He wanted to be treated no better and no worse than anyone else,” Robinson said.

Pugh wrote a letter to the two arresting officers because of his conduct at the time, Ganieany said.

In his letter, Pugh called the incident an “embarrassment” and apologized for any actions that may have offended the officers.

“It is my hope that should we meet in the future our association will be mutually pleasant,” Pugh wrote.

During an interview Tuesday, Pugh said, “I’m willing to accept what I have done.”

“I’m not hiding it,” he said of the agreement. “I didn’t do anything but go through the process.”

Pugh questioned the attention his case has received from news organizations, with seven previous rounds of stories by his count.

“I have been very well covered,” Pugh said.

He said reporters should be investigating corruption in Kansas government that is much more important than his case.

“This is easy,” he said. “It’s an easy, lazy reporter’s way of giving a message.”