A 20-year-old local man was arrested Saturday night for driving under the influence, his third offense, after allegedly fleeing the scene of a wreck and then passing out in his vehicle down the road.
Clayton Tyler Golden, who lists a North Moore Terrace address, was taken into custody just before 8 p.m. for DUI 3, careless and prohibited driving and driving on a suspended license. A conviction for a third offense of DUI within five years is punishable by up to one year in jail, a fine of up to $5,000 and suspension of one's driver's license for up to 30 months.
Golden was later released on a $2,000 bond, and is set to appear Aug. 21 in Garland County District Court.
According to the probable cause affidavit, at around 7 p.m. Friday Arkansas State Police Trooper Zach Whitney was notified of a two-vehicle wreck in the 1400 block of Airport Road where one vehicle had pulled over in a nearby parking lot and the other continued west, pulling over in a parking lot in the 1600 block.
The driver of the second vehicle, later identified as Golden, was reportedly "passed out" behind the wheel.
Whitney approached the vehicle and asked Golden if he had taken anything that day. He initially responded he had not, but later allegedly admitted to "taking a hit of synthetic." At that time, Golden was asked to step out of the vehicle.
Whitney noted his reactions were reportedly slow, his eyes were droopy, his pupils slightly dilated and he was sagging at the knees.
When Whitney asked him to walk toward his patrol unit, Golden was reportedly unable to walk straight. A field sobriety test was administered, and Golden allegedly showed multiple signs of intoxication throughout the test.
Golden was arrested and transported to the Garland County Detention Center. Garland County sheriff's Deputy Clayton Green was called in to conduct more tests on Golden.
Golden's breathalyzer results tested negative for alcohol, but a drug recognition test led Green to believe Golden was under the influence of a central nervous system depressant. Golden's urine test was pending at the time of the report.
Local on 08/15/2017