A jury convicted Deanna Kay Clark of Driving While Intoxicated with a Blood Alcohol Content >= .15 on March 23, 2017. The 49-year-old Cypress woman was charged with the crime after being stopped for speeding in Fulshear in 2015.According to Assistant District Attorney Michael Hanson, Clark was stopped by Fulshear Police Sgt. Charlie Scott for speeding during the evening of September 5, 2015. Sgt. Scott noticed Clark’s slurred speech and an odor of alcohol as he spoke to her about the traffic violation. Scott then evaluated the defendant’s ability to drive safely using standardized field sobriety tests. Clark demonstrated several signs of intoxication throughout the evaluation and was subsequently arrested. The defendant admitted to drinking only two glasses of wine, but provided a breath sample that showed her blood alcohol level to be over twice the legal limit.
The State also presented testimony from Fort Bend County Deputy Sheriff Sgt. Beckworth and Department of Public Safety Technical Supervisor Alva Barbosa to provide the jury evidence that Clark’s breath test was administered correctly and that the scientific instrumentation was working properly.
The defense presented Clark’s passenger from that night who testified that he believed the defendant looked normal – despite it only being their first date. Clark herself took the stand and testified that she had a fatty liver and was pre-diabetic. She did not believe she failed the standardized field sobriety tests despite Sgt. Scott’s testimony and the scene video introduced to the jury. Ultimately, the jury found Sgt. Scott and the science more credible and convicted the defendant of Driving While Intoxicated with a Blood Alcohol Content >= .15.
“It is not our condition that determines our choices; it’s our choices that determine our condition,” argued lead prosecutor Michael Hanson. “No matter the excuse, it was ultimately the defendant’s choices that determined the condition she was in that night that she was driving on our roadways. She made her choices and the jury made theirs.”
Clark was tried in County Court at Law Number 2 before Presiding Judge Jeffrey McMeans. Driving While Intoxicated in this case is a Class A Misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $4,000 and/or up to a year in jail. Clark was sentenced to pay a $1,000 fine plus court costs and to serve three days in jail. Clark was also given jail credit for three days already served.
Assistant District Attorneys Michael Hanson and Charann Thompson prosecuted the case. Attorney Todd Dupont represented the defendant.