A North Little Rock man was sentenced to five years in prison Monday after pleading guilty in Garland County Circuit Court to a felony count of driving while intoxicated, fourth offense, stemming from his arrest earlier this year.
Reginald Dewayne Andrews, 34, who was set for a hearing on Nov. 12 to determine if any statements he made during his arrest April 19 were admissible, opted to plead guilty to the DWI fourth charge and felony failure to appear and was sentenced to five years on each count, to run concurrently, and ordered to pay $490 in court costs.
According to the probable cause affidavit for his arrest, shortly after 12:30 p.m. on April 19, Arkansas State Police Trooper Kyle Sheldon was eastbound on Highway 70 when he saw a red Nissan passenger car approaching behind him at a high rate of speed.
He moved over to let the Nissan pass and clocked it on radar going 12 mph over the speed limit. He followed it and noted the vehicle crossed the centerline multiple times as it picked up speed. He made a traffic stop on the vehicle and made contact with the driver, identified as Andrews, and noted he had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech.
Sheldon states there was a "strong odor of air freshener" coming from the interior of the vehicle so he only detected a slight odor of intoxicants. After having Andrews exit, he noted a strong odor of alcohol coming from his person.
Andrews submitted to field sobriety tests and failed all three. He then submitted to a Breathalyzer test and registered 0.231% blood alcohol content, almost three times the legal limit.
A computer check showed Andrews was convicted of DWI on Nov. 29, 2015, and Feb. 6, 2018, in North Little Rock, and on June 21, 2018, in Pulaski County. He also had a DWI arrest on July 28, 2018, in Pulaski County that is still pending with a hearing in Pulaski County Circuit Court on Nov. 18.
Sheldon arrested him on a felony charge of DWI, fourth, and he was released the next day on $2,500 bond. While out on bond, he was arrested again in Little Rock four days later, on April 23, on three felony counts of first-degree battery, leaving the scene of an injury accident and DWI, fifth offense, following a wreck, which are still pending.
On May 6, he failed to appear for his hearing in Garland County District Court and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was arrested the next day on the failure to appear warrant and held on $25,000 bond. He was released on bond on July 11 and then failed to appear for his hearing in circuit court on Aug. 13.
He was arrested again on Aug. 14 and had remained in custody on zero bond since then.
Local on 11/05/2019