Prosecutor charged with drunken driving – for the third time, Arkansas police say
A prosecutor in Arkansas was caught driving drunk this week, media outlets report.
This wasn’t the first time, or even the second.
Woodruff County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney John Bell, 50, was arrested and charged with his third offense of driving while intoxicated, according to KLRT. Bald Knob police officers arrested Bell on Monday night, the Little Rock TV station reported.
Bell also was charged with driving while his license was suspended or revoked from a previous DWI charge, according to White County jail records. Additionally, he was charged with driving without a license or insurance and refusing to take a sobriety test, according to records.
Bell expressed regret for the arrest but didn’t mention any plans to resign from his job in a statement to KATV.
“My motto has always been ‘Everybody matters or nobody matters,’” Bell wrote in the statement, according to KATV. “That includes the victims I have tried to help find justice and the defendants who have their own struggles and people who love them. I’ve tried to live up to that ideal. Addressing my personal issues is a top priority right now and I’m just deeply sorry for the pain and embarrassment I have caused my co-workers and my family.“
Drunk man had toddler in car when he crashed driving on only his rims, Texas cops say
The Bald Knob Police Department did not provide details of Bell’s arrest, according to The Daily Citizen. The police department told the Searcy newspaper it had to file a records request after the arrest report is complete in several days, according to The Daily Citizen.
In 2016, Bell was charged with driving while intoxicated in Wynne, Arkansas, after an officer noticed his vehicle crossing the center line of a road several times, KAIT reported. Police said Bell smelled of alcohol, slurred his speech and refused a breathalyzer test, according to the Jonesboro TV station.
Reports of a third time Bell was charged with drunken driving were not immediately available.