BENTONVILLE — A son of former Gov. Asa Hutchinson must spend eight days in the Benton County Jail after pleading guilty to drug and drunken driving charges.
William Așa Hutchison III, 47, pleaded guilty Tuesday to possession of a controlled substance and second offense driving while intoxicated. The plea was under an agreement reached by Shane Wilkinson, Hutchinson’s attorney, and Seth Segovia, deputy prosecutor.
“We were very happy with the result and I’ll commend the Benton County Prosecutors Office for treating him just like everyone else,” Wilkinson said. “It doesn’t always work that way. I’ve represented a lot of notable clients and, contrary to popular belief, there’s very rarely an upside to being notable.”
Hutchinson’s arrest stems from a traffic stop Jan. 16.
According to a probable cause affidavit, a Benton County Sheriff’s Office deputy saw a vehicle headed west on Southwest 14th Street and traveling 71 mph in a 45 mph zone.
The deputy stopped the vehicle on Been Road, and Asa Hutchinson III was identified as the driver, according to the affidavit. The deputy described Hutchinson’s eyes as bloodshot and watery and said he smelled alcohol on Hutchinson’s breath.
The deputy did field sobriety tests and believed Hutchinson was under the influence of alcohol to such a degree his reactions, motor skills and judgment were substantially altered, the affidavit states.
Hutchinson was arrested on a charge of driving while intoxicated. The deputy searched Hutchinson and found a clear plastic bag with a white, powdery substance in his right jacket pocket; the substance tested positive for cocaine, according to the affidavit. The deputy also found a gun in Hutchinson’s car, according to court documents.
He was accused of possessing a usable amount, but less than 2 grams, of cocaine, a schedule II controlled substance, according to court documents.
Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren accepted the plea agreement and Hutchinson’s guilty plea.
Hutchinson was placed on unsupervised probation for three years with Act 346, which means the conviction will be expunged if he successfully completes his probation.
Hutchinson, who already has served two days in jail, was sentenced to another eight days in jail for the driving while intoxicated charge. He will turn himself in on Friday to begin serving the sentence.
He was ordered to be evaluated at Ozark Guidance or a similar facility for alcohol and substance abuse issues.
Hutchinson was also arrested in connection with simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, but prosecutors didn’t file the formal charge against him.
A panel of the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct suspended Hutchinson’s law license within days of his January arrest. In May, however, the Arkansas Supreme Court reinstated his law license in a 4-3 ruling, saying the committee should have provided notice and held a hearing before suspending the license.
Asa Hutchinson III’s father served as governor from 2015 until January and is currently running for the Republican nomination for president.
Asa Hutchinson III has been arrested several times in recent years.
He pleaded guilty and was sentenced in December 2018 to 365 days in jail for a DWI charge from May 27, 2018, when he was found driving a 2017 GMC Yukon SUV southbound on Interstate 49 near West Fork, according to previous reports. He received credit for the one day he served in jail, and 364 days were suspended. Hutchinson also was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and $340 in court costs.
He had another DWI charge arising from a car accident Jan. 24, 2016, on Interstate 49 near Fayetteville, where he reportedly crashed his pickup into a guardrail just before 4 a.m. State police responding to the crash described Hutchinson’s eyes as “bloodshot and watery,” according to police reports.
Hutchinson pleaded not guilty.
In November 2017, a Fayetteville judge convicted Hutchinson for driving while intoxicated, careless and prohibited driving, and refusing to submit to a chemical test, but those charges were dismissed because of errors in citations.