Man arrested on multiple charges after wrecking car, drugs found
Sheriff’s files
STEVEN MROSS
The Sentinel-Record staff
An allegedly intoxicated Royal man was arrested on multiple charges Wednesday after he was involved in a collision and drugs were found.
Robert Alan Hawkins, 22, who lists an address of 143 Woodview Lane, was taken into custody shortly after noon and charged with misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance, marijuana, punishable by up to one year in jail, driving while intoxicated and refusal to submit to a chemical test.
Hawkins, who was also cited for no proof of insurance and careless and prohibited driving, was later released on $2,500 bond and is set to appear Feb. 25 in Garland County District Court.
According to reports, around 11:30 a.m., Garland County sheriff’s Deputy Matthew Wharton was dispatched to a traffic accident in the 1400 block of Oakgrove Road and upon arrival saw a red 1995 Ford Taurus sitting in the northbound lane with the front passenger tire and rim separated from the vehicle and the car sitting on top of it.
He made contact with the owner of the second vehicle, a white 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe, who told him Hawkins was northbound on Oakgrove when he struck his parked vehicle in the lot.
Wharton spoke to a male witness, 28, of Arkadelphia, and a female witness, 37, who stated they saw the suspect exit his vehicle after the collision and begin tossing items over a fence next to his car, including a clear glass bottle with purple liquid and a plastic bag.
Wharton states he saw a clear bottle with what smelled like and appeared to be wine and a baggie suspected marijuana, approximately . grams, where the witnesses had seen the suspect tossing items.
The deputy questioned Hawkins, who stated he was texting while driving and that’s what caused him to hit the other car.
Wharton noted Hawkins had a strong odor of intoxicants on his breath, red, watery eyes and slurred speech. He asked him if he had been drinking and he denied it. He also denied throwing anything over the fence.
He reportedly submitted to a portable breathalyzer test but “did not give a valid sample” and stated he was not able to. He agreed to take the standardized field sobriety tests and reportedly failed all three of them.
Wharton then asked Hawkins to show him his tongue, which revealed a purple color inside his mouth that matched the color and smell of the liquid in the bottle. In the vehicle, the deputy also found a cup in the center console that had the same color liquid in it.
Hawkins was taken into custody and once at the detention center he consented to a second breath test, which registered his blood-alcohol content at 0.08 percent. After Hawkins saw the result, he reportedly gave an insufficient sample the second attempt and “blew extremely hard” the third attempt.
