BENTON COUNTY (KFSM) - Benton County Prosecutor Jim Clark announced on Wednesday (Oct. 8) he will drop the public intoxication charge filed against Benton County Judge Bob Clinard due to a lack of evidence.
This comes after Judge Paul Bridges, who was overseeing Clinard's case in Rogers District Court, recused himself from the case on Oct. 7. Clinard was originally scheduled to be in court on Oct. 7, but since Bridges recused himself, the case was set to be transferred to circuit court. Now that the charge will be dropped, that won't happen, officials say.
Clinard underwent a successful heart procedure on Aug. 25, three days after he was cited at Frisco Fest in Rogers on suspicion of public intoxication. He was taken away in an ambulance and transported to Northwest Medical Center in Bentonville.
After taking a little time to recover from his procedure, he returned to work on Sept. 2.
“There is no doubt that the officers had adequate probable cause to believe that he might be intoxicated,” Clark said. “The officers should also be commended for recognizing that he was suffering from some kind of medical problem and summoning the EMTs to the location.” However, there is a difference between probable cause for issuing a citation, and the proof beyond a reasonable doubt that is required for a conviction, Clark stated.
“After reviewing the medical records which I subpoenaed from the hospital, I do not believe that the State could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that his stumbling and falling was caused by the alcohol he had consumed, and not by his heart condition,” Clark said.
Clark says intoxication levels were never collected.
"At the hospital, they did not check his blood alcohol level," Clark said.
The emergency room doctor stated in his report that Clinard “did not appear to be intoxicated.”