Toxicology results show a man charged with first-degree battery in the death of a Conway police officer and driving while intoxicated had no alcohol or nonprescribed drugs in his system at the time of the January accident that killed the officer.
Barry Strickland, 31, of Conway, was arrested Jan. 31 when his vehicle struck 26-year-old William Michael McGary, who was directing traffic at a crash scene. McGary died the next day.
Strickland, who pleaded innocent, was released after posting a $150,000 bond. But the prosecution petitioned to have Strickland’s bond revoked after he missed a drug screening April 29. Strickland’s defense said he was ill at the time of the screening and couldn’t leave his home. At a Faulkner County Circuit Court hearing Friday morning, Judge Charles E. Clawson Jr. declined to revoke the bond because the prosecution could not prove Strickland had willfully violated the terms. If Strickland’s bond had been revoked, he would have had to return to jail until his trial.
Strickland has passed each of his 27 drug screenings since he was released, said his attorney, Frank Shaw. At Friday’s hearing, the judge also reduced Strickland’s mandatory screenings from two to one a week and granted Strickland permission to operate his family’s riding lawnmower so he can mow his family’s 3- to 4-acre property.
Toxicology results from the state Crime Laboratory indicate that at the time of the collision, Strickland was under the influence only of his prescribed medications, which the Iraq war veteran takes for post-traumatic stress disorder, Shaw said.
“The rumor was rampant that he was drunk,” Shaw said. “That couldn’t be further from the truth. There was no alcohol in his system. Zero.”
Strickland hadn’t slept for two or three days at the time of the accident because of his disorder, Shaw said. The attorney said Strickland drove to work at Union Pacific Corp. that day but was sent home by his boss, who said he seemed too tired to do his job. Strickland was on his way home when he struck McGary.
Prosecuting Attorney Cody Hiland didn’t return several calls requesting comment Friday. It’s unclear whether the charges against Strickland will change in light of the toxicology results. For a conviction of first-degree battery against a law enforcement officer in the line of duty, the prosecution must prove that Strickland showed “extreme indifference”to the value of human life, according to Arkansas law.
The prosecution filed the battery charge against Strickland before McGary died. Because the charge involves a police officer, a conviction could result in a maximum sentence of 10 to 40 years or life in prison. A negligent homicide conviction could result in sentence of 5 to 20 years.
More than 20 police officers and some members of the McGary family were at the hearing Friday, as well as Strickland’s parents, his pastor and his 91-year-old grandfather. Shaw said it was an “emotional” morning.
“The McGary family’s grief is significant,” he said. “And the Stricklands’ grief is extreme as well. This is genuine heartbreak on both sides.”
Arkansas, Pages 12 on 06/01/2013