A local woman on parole from her 13th conviction for driving while intoxicated in 2018, who already has a DWI charge pending from last year in Grant County, was arrested on her 15th DWI charge Thursday morning in Hot Springs.
Patricia Ann Clanton, 60, who lists a Malvern Avenue address, was taken into custody around 9:45 a.m. Thursday and charged with DWI, her seventh offense within 20 years, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and misdemeanor counts of driving while her license was revoked due to DWI, fleeing on foot, and refusal to submit to chemical testing.
She remained in custody on a zero bond parole hold and was set to appear Friday in Garland County District Court.
Clanton was convicted of DWI, sixth offense, on Nov. 5, 2018, in Garland County Circuit Court and sentenced to 15 years in prison, with nine years suspended, fined $3,500 and ordered to pay $320 in court costs. She was later paroled. She was arrested on Sept. 29, 2022, in Grant County for DWI, sixth offense, and is set to stand trial there on May 4.
Garland County Deputy Prosecutor Trent Daniels, who prosecuted Clanton in her 2018 case, told The Sentinel-Record Friday they would be seeking a warrant for violation of her suspended sentence.
Clanton was previously convicted of DWI on Aug. 21, 1994, in Pine Bluff; on May 9, 1999, in Hot Springs; on Feb. 9, 2002, in Hot Springs; on June 22, 2002, in Rockport; on June 15, 2004, in Garland County Circuit Court; on Sept. 23, 2005, in Hot Springs; on April 4, 2008, in Hot Springs; on Oct. 10, 2011, in Pine Bluff; on Jan. 20, 2012, in Pine Bluff; on April 1, 2012, in Hot Springs; on April 5, 2014, in Grant County; and on Jan. 12, 2016, in Garland County.
On the 2016 conviction, Clanton was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with eight years suspended, fined $900 and ordered to pay $340 in court costs. Her suspended sentence in that case was revoked after her arrest in March 2018.
According to the probable cause affidavit on Thursday's arrest, around 9 a.m., Arkansas State Police Trooper Justin Parker was patrolling in the area of Malvern Avenue near Stanage Terrace when he saw a dark blue Ford Fusion traveling westbound and ran the license plate.
The plate showed a status of "revoked registration" so he ran the registered owner, identified as Clanton, which showed her driver's license was revoked due to DWI. As he passed the car, he was able to confirm Clanton was driving and wearing a bright pink shirt.
The car pulled into Sonic Drive-In, 3701 Malvern, and into a stall. Parker backed in and waited for the car to pull out, making sure to not restrict or block access to the business, he said. As he was waiting, he saw a white female walking away from the back left corner of the Sonic lot and noted she matched the description of Clanton.
He then checked the Fusion and saw it was still parked in the stall, but was unoccupied. As he started toward the area where he last saw Clanton, a man came out of a nearby residence and yelled, "She ran around back and jumped the fence!"
Parker moved farther down the road and saw a female in a bright pink shirt "walking quickly" across an open field. He yelled for her to stop a few times, but she reportedly continued walking away. He unholstered his Taser and ordered her to stop and she finally complied and was taken into custody.
Parker noticed Clanton was clutching her purse and had Ford keys hanging out of her pocket that were confirmed to be the keys to the Fusion at Sonic. He noted Clanton was "out of breath and breathing heavily" and he could smell a "strong odor of mouthwash and alcohol" on her breath.
Parker moved Clanton back to the area of her vehicle where she submitted to three field sobriety tests and allegedly failed all three. She reportedly attempted to provide a breath sample on Parker's portable breath tester, but was unable to provide an accurate sample.
Once at the detention center, Clanton was given another opportunity to take a breath test and reportedly refused.