An Arkansas woman who struck and killed a pedestrian with her car in 2016 was convicted of misdemeanor negligent homicide and sentenced to one year in jail Thursday after a two-day trial in Garland County Circuit Court.
Shakeetrya Lachelle Dunwood, 26, was initially charged with a felony count of negligent homicide, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, in connection with the May 28, 2016, wreck that claimed the life of Michael Wicker, 59, of Hardy. The charge was amended last month to felony manslaughter, punishable by up to 10 years, after U.S. Supreme Court and Arkansas Supreme Court decisions disallowed some key evidence.
A 10-woman, two-man jury deliberated for 37 minutes Thursday before finding Dunwood guilty of the lesser misdemeanor count of negligent homicide and deliberated another 25 minutes before sentencing her to the maximum of one year in jail along with the maximum fine of $2,500, Deputy Prosecutor Ron Jones said.
Shortly after the fatal wreck, Hot Springs police used "an implied consent rights form," which Dunwood signed, to obtain a blood draw from her at the hospital that reportedly determined Dunwood tested positive for the presence of marijuana, Jones said, leading to the original felony negligent homicide charge.
"After that, there was a U.S. Supreme Court case and subsequently an Arkansas Supreme Court case in a different jurisdiction than ours that applied to the same issue in this case and based on their rulings, the implied consent draw was not valid and would have required a search warrant be obtained, which was not done."
Jones said the blood draw evidence was not admissible at trial, but stressed, "The Hot Springs police went exactly by the book as the law existed at that time." He noted Dunwood had made statements to police admitting to marijuana use that were admissible and presented to the jury, but the medical proof was not presented.
He said for the original negligent homicide charge it was necessary to prove Dunwood "negligently" caused the death of the victim while under the manslaughter charge it was only necessary to show she "recklessly" caused his death. He had amended the charge to manslaughter on Oct. 31.
"These cases are tough," Jones said. "I believe the jury did their due diligence and were very attentive in listening to the evidence. I always feel once the jury has made their decision, justice has been served."
According to the probable cause affidavit, on May 28, 2016, shortly after 3:30 p.m., police responded to the 1500 block of Central Avenue to an injury wreck and upon arrival Officer Hunter Scott saw a man and woman on the ground near the sidewalk directly in front of the Continental Motel, 1535 Central, with a blue car nearby on its side.
Cpl. John Tinney was on scene performing chest compressions on the male victim, identified as Wicker, who was noted to have head trauma. Dunwood was also assisted by police until LifeNet arrived and transported her to the hospital.
At the hospital, Dunwood told police she had given a ride to a friend earlier after they both had donated blood plasma and, while dropping her off, the friend "lit a blunt." Dunwood admitted she "took a hit off the blunt." She said as she drove away she made a turn and then everything went black.
An accident investigation determined Dunwood, driving a blue 2010 Chevrolet Aveo, was southbound on Central when she veered across the center lane and both northbound lanes before traveling onto the sidewalk on the east side of the roadway and striking a landscaping planter at the motel.
The impact with the planter caused the Aveo to roll over and strike Wicker, who was walking along the sidewalk. Wicker later died at a local hospital as a result of the injuries he sustained in the collision.
The blood draw taken from Dunwood at the hospital was sent to the state crime lab and on June 28, 2016, a report was released which showed the sample tested positive for cannabinoids, the affidavit states. A warrant was later issued for Dunwood, who was arrested on July 29 and released the next day on a $5,000 bond.