Council Member Whyte’s first DWI hearing pushed to March
“It’s standard, if they don’t have all the evidence yet, to reset the case, and so we asked for a reset.”
David Christian, Marc Whyte’s defense attorney
District 10 Council Member Marc Whyte on Tuesday was supposed to make his first court appearance after being charged with driving while intoxicated a month ago — but that won’t happen.
His arraignment hearing was kicked to March 26.
David Christian, Whyte’s defense attorney, asked to reschedule the hearing because the Northeast Side council member’s blood alcohol concentration test results aren’t in yet.
“It’s standard, if they don’t have all the evidence yet, to reset the case, and so we asked for a reset,” Christian said.
Whyte isn’t the first
District 10 council member that Christian has defended. Last year, Christian
kept Whyte’s predecessor, Clayton Perry, out of jail after he drunkenly
crashed into a car and fled the scene in late 2022.
Christian also is defending KSAT reporter John Paul Barajas after his arrest on a DWI charge in November.
Whyte was arrested the night of Dec. 29. He refused to have his blood drawn and turned down a breathalyzer test, a police affidavit says, but police obtained a warrant ordering Whyte to comply. His blood was drawn at 1:30 a.m. Dec. 30.
It could be another month before results are in.
The police officer who pulled Whyte over said in an affidavit that Whyte was driving erratically in the eastbound lanes of the Northeast Loop 410 access road south of San Antonio International Airport.
Whyte told officer D. Mccroy that he had consumed three beers that night: one at El Mirasol, a popular Mexican restaurant at the upscale shopping and dining center Alon Town Centre on Northwest Military Highway; a second at Myron’s Prime Steakhouse next door; and a third at the Thirsty Horse Dance Hall & Saloon.
Whyte met up with friends at El Mirasol, including District 6 Council Member Melissa Cabello Havrda, who also visited Myron’s with Whyte. However, she told the San Antonio Express-news that when the group decided to go to the Thirsty Horse, she opted to go home because she was suffering from allergies. She had taken an Uber to El Mirasol, but Whyte drove her home, dropping her off between 9 and 9:30 p.m. before meeting his other friends at the Thirsty Horse.
Whyte was arrested shortly after 11 p.m. that night.
DWI is defined in the Texas Penal Code as driving with a blood alcohol concentration, or BAC, of 0.08 or higher. It’s a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days in jail. A driver with a BAC of 0.08 is four times more likely to crash than a sober driver, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Driving with a BAC of 0.15 or higher, a level sometimes called “extreme intoxication,” is a more serious offense: a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and the loss of driving privileges for 90 days.
On Jan. 14, City Council convened on a Sunday to formally reprimand Whyte. The body voted 10-0 to censure him following his arrest, an action that carries no concrete consequences.
Mayor Ron Nirenberg said the censure was meant to send a message that council does not take drinking and driving lightly.
Nirenberg also temporarily stripped Whyte of his three City Council committee assignments. Council members all serve on several committees, which help shape policies before they go to the full council for a vote.