JONESBORO, Ark. — A driver faces a felony DWI charge after police said a Highway 49 traffic stop revealed she was driving without a required ignition interlock device and had two vodka bottles inside her SUV.
Officer Dustin Simons stopped the blue Kia at about 6:06 p.m. Monday, Aug. 17, after reportedly seeing it cross into the center turn lane while traveling on Highway 49, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Police said the SUV continued for a significant distance after Simons activated his emergency lights before stopping at Ridge Coffee near the intersection with Craighead County Road 702.
Ashlyn Renee Blevins, the driver, told the officer she had been using her phone to listen to music and was headed to work. A driver’s license check showed she had a restricted Class D license requiring an ignition interlock device, but police said the SUV did not have one.
The license check also showed alcohol-related driving violations in 2025, 2021 and 2020. The affidavit describes the new allegation as Blevins’ fourth alcohol-related DWI.
During the investigation, Simons reported that Blevins had bloodshot eyes and swayed while standing. She initially denied consuming alcohol but later said she had been drinking around 11 p.m. or midnight the previous night, according to the affidavit. She denied using drugs.
Police said Blevins displayed three of six indicators of impairment during a horizontal gaze nystagmus test. During additional field sobriety tests, she allegedly stepped off the line, put her foot down and used her arms for balance.
Blevins refused a portable breath test and later refused chemical testing after being advised of the state’s implied-consent law, the affidavit said.
Officer Lawson reportedly found two Pinnacle vodka bottles inside the SUV. One was empty and the other was half full. Police photographed the bottles and secured them as evidence.
After Blevins was transported to the Craighead County Detention Center, police said she slipped out of her handcuffs. The restraints were secured again before she entered the detention center.
Blevins is charged with felony DWI, refusal to submit to a chemical test, driving left of the center turn lane, having an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle and operating a vehicle during a DWI-related license suspension or revocation.
The felony DWI charge carries a possible sentence of one to six years, according to the first-appearance order.
Bond was set at $15,000 cash or surety. The court ordered Blevins to wear a blood-alcohol-monitoring ankle device and prohibited her from consuming alcohol while on bond. Her next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 30.
All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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