Mayor pleads innocent to DUI charge
Posted on Saturday, May 17, 2008
Berryville Mayor Tim McKinney pleaded innocent Friday to charges of driving while intoxicated, misdemeanor marijuana possession and speeding.
His attorney, Beth Storey, entered the pleas on McKinney’s behalf in Eureka Springs District Court. A trial was set for July 25.
A Carroll County sheriff ’s deputy stopped McKinney on Arkansas 62 outside Berryville early March 22 for driving 72 mph in a 55-mph zone, an arrest report states.
The deputy suspected McKinney, 55, was under the influence and gave him a field sobriety test that the mayor failed. The deputy found a small amount of a substance believed to be marijuana, the report states.
The report doesn’t state McKinney’s blood alcohol level, and officials didn’t return calls Friday seeking that information.
McKinney likely will be able to stay in office until his term ends in 2010. There’s no mechanism in Arkansas law to remove a mayor from office for a misdemeanor conviction, according to the Arkansas Municipal League.
McKinney’s case was transferred from Berryville District Court to Eureka Springs District Court to avoid a potential conflict.
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