Man with multiple DWIs stopped for speeding, blows over legal limit again

Benjamin Hutchinson, 57, of Branson, is being held in the Ozark County Jail on a $5,000 cash-only bond in connection with an Ozark County case where he is charged with driving while intoxicated involving an incident last year. The charge is increased to the level of aggravated offender, a class D felony, because Hutchison has been convicted of DWI three previous times. If convicted, this will be the fourth DWI on his record. 

According to the probable cause statement, prepared by MSHP Trooper W. Wadlington, on May 20, 2023, he stopped Hutchison on Highway 5 near the Barren Fork bridge for going 76 miles an hour on the highway, which has a speed limit of 60 mph. Hutchison gave the officer valid proof of insurance but said he didn’t have his license on him. When the officer asked if he had a valid license, he said he didn’t.

Hutchison reportedly told Wadlington he hadn’t drank any alcohol since the night before. He agreed to complete some field sobriety tests. 

A preliminary breath test showed a blood alcohol content of .088 percent.

During a walk and run portion, he reportedly stopped after only eight steps even though the officer asked for nine steps and did not leave his lead foot planted while making a turn, as the officer had asked. 

He did successfully recite the alphabet from letters E to P with no issues. 

The officer asked him to count backward from 89 to 64. He made a few errors in counting, repeating numbers or skipping numbers and counted beyond 64, down to 61. 

Wadlington wrote that a routine computer check showed he was revoked in Missouri with nine active actions on his driving status including multiple chemical and point revocations and two 10-year minimum denials. 

It also showed that he’d been convicted of driving while intoxicated three times (July 12, 2011, in Howell County; July 21, 2005, in Taney County; and Sept. 9, 1999, in Hollister) as well as a conviction of excessive blood alcohol content on Feb. 19, 2004, in Forsyth. 

He was arrested and transported to the Ozark County Jail, where he was booked and released to a sober driver that day. He was rearrested Sept. 26.