Man sentenced to six years in prison for fourth DWI following jury trial
A Mountain Pine man was sentenced to six years in prison after he was convicted of his fourth offense of driving while intoxicated following a one-day trial Monday in Garland County Circuit Court.
Robert Hardin Gautreaux,
59, who has remained in custody since his arrest Dec. 16,
2017, was also found guilty of a misdemeanor count of reckless driving by the six-man, six-woman jury and sentenced to 45 days in jail. He was also fined $900 and ordered to pay $320 in court costs upon his release.
According to the probable cause affidavit for his arrest, on Dec. 16, shortly after 8 a.m., Arkansas State Police Trooper Ryan Wingo was dispatched to a rollover wreck in the 2100 block of Mountain Pine Road and arrived to find a green Ford pickup truck on the shoulder of the road in the southbound lane.
The driver of the pickup, identified as Gautreaux, was being treated by LifeNet personnel on the other side of the road. Wingo asked Gautreaux what happened and noted his speech was slurred as he answered.
Gautreaux submitted to a breathalyzer test which showed his blood alcohol content was over the legal limit, but he reportedly denied drinking any alcohol that morning. He later admitted he had been drinking the night before.
Gautreaux was taken into custody and transported to the detention center where he submitted to a second breathalyzer test which registered his blood alcohol content at 0.12 percent, still well over the legal limit.
He was charged with DWI, failure to maintain control of his vehicle, driving left of center, no proof of insurance, reckless driving and driving on a suspended license.
It was later determined Gautreaux had been previously convicted of DWI on Aug. 22,
2013, and Dec. 14, 2013, both in Garland County, and on Feb. 24,
2015, in Greenwood. He was also convicted of a felony in 2009 in Garland County.