PARAGOULD, Ark. — A woman accused of driving through a yard while impaired with a young child in her vehicle has pleaded guilty to felony child endangerment and driving while intoxicated.
Anne C. Coker, 47, entered a negotiated guilty plea July 28 in Greene County Circuit Court to first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, a Class D felony, and violating the Omnibus DWI Act, an unclassified misdemeanor.
Circuit Judge Pam Honeycutt accepted the agreement and placed Coker on 36 months of supervised probation on the felony charge.
The felony was handled through deferred adjudication. The court did not enter a judgment of guilt on that charge, meaning Coker may ask the court to dismiss the charge and seal the record if she successfully completes probation. The deferred status applies only to the felony charge, not the DWI conviction.
Coker was sentenced to 60 days in the Greene County Detention Center on the DWI charge, with credit for all 60 days already served.
Prosecutors dropped a misdemeanor charge of first-degree criminal mischief as part of the agreement.
The sentencing order requires Coker to pay $1,410 in fines and fees, along with a $35 monthly probation fee. She must also undergo DWI screening and follow any resulting recommendations.
The case began May 29 when officers responded to a dead-end private drive on Reynolds Park Road after receiving a report that a seemingly lost and confused woman had driven through a yard.
Officers found Coker in the driver’s seat of a black Toyota with a child approximately 7 years old in the back seat. An officer reported that Coker had severely slurred speech and small amounts of drool or foam coming from her mouth.
Coker told officers she was trying to travel to Hoxie and had awakened feeling “really dizzy,” according to the probable cause affidavit.
During an evaluation by emergency medical personnel, an officer reported seeing Coker itching, scratching, twitching and pulling at her arms, hips and stomach.
A search of the vehicle uncovered bottles of dextroamphetamine-amphetamine and amphetamine salts, both substitutes for Adderall. Officers said the bottles contained fewer pills than expected based on the prescribed dosages.
Emergency medical personnel believed Coker was likely overdosing on Adderall, the affidavit states.
Coker registered a blood alcohol concentration of 0.00. Officers later obtained a warrant for a blood sample, which was collected at a hospital. The court records did not include the results of that analysis.
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