HOT SPRINGS -- 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, still has two outstanding DWI charges in Pulaski County.
Andrews was set for a hearing on Nov. 12 in Garland County to determine if any statements he made during his arrest April 19 were admissible. However, he opted to plead guilty to the DWI fourth-offense 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 U.S. 70 when he saw a red Nissan passenger car approaching behind him at a high rate of speed.
Sheldon moved over to let the Nissan pass and clocked it on radar going 12 miles over the speed limit. He followed it and noted the vehicle crossed the centerline multiple times as it picked up speed. Sheldon made a traffic stop on the vehicle and made contact with the driver, identified as Andrews, and noted that the driver had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech.
Sheldon stated in his report that 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 on 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 set for Nov. 18.
Sheldon arrested Andrews on a felony charge of DWI, fourth offense, and he was released the next day on $2,500 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, after a wreck. Those charges 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 and held in lieu of $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 with no bond since then.
Metro on 11/05/2019