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August 14, 2009

Area mayor not ‘acting normally’ day of arrest

By Art Lawler Staff Writer

GUN BARREL CITY — Tool Mayor Mike Black — who was arrested following a two-vehicle wreck on Hwy. 334 inside the city Monday and was charged with driving while intoxicated — had been rushed to a hospital by EMS earlier that morning.

It was the beginning of a bizarre rash of events that included two vehicle collisions, one in Seven Points with a building, and one in Gun Barrel City with a car sitting at a stoplight; two police departments and three lake area communities.

It apparently also included a nervous ride for one of Black’s employees before the crash.

Police reports show Black had been transported by EMS to East Texas Medical Center, Gun Barrel City from his home in Tool, arriving at the clinic sometime before 4 a.m., complaining of nausea.

The report also stated Black told a doctor at the clinic he had been taking hydrocodone and anniproxin.­­

A nurse on the scene told GBC officer Roger Cole that Black, 62, had a blood alcohol level of .07 after arriving at the clinic.

So far, it’s not clear how Black — who rode in an ambulance from the clinic — managed to acquire a truck and drive to the Brookshire’s gas station and convenience store in Seven Points sometime between 6 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. Assistant Manager Darla Day at the Brookshires self-service gas and convenience store said a unnamed employee heard a crash into the building.

Day said Black came into the store telling the clerk he had hurt his ankle, making it hard for him to keep his balance.

Seven Points police were called to the scene but apparently no official report was made, and Black was released.

Attempts by the Athens Review to reach Seven Points Police for a comment on the incident Thursday and Friday were unsuccessful.

Day said the wall suffered heavy damage in the collision.

According to witnesses, Black showed up at work around 8 a.m. and told one of his employees, Willie Lockabay, who had just arrived for work, to get in the truck, that he was taking him home.

He indicated the mayor wasn’t acting normally.

Lockabay, nevertheless, did as the mayor instructed — and he wound up on what he indicated to officers — was a scary ride back east across the Cedar Creek Lake bridges along Hwy. 334 into Gun Barrel City. Lockabay told Officer Cole he told Black to watch the road and traffic in front of the truck.

Black’s attention, he told officers, was on everything but his driving.

The collision occurred at 8:22 a.m. at Welch Lane and Main (Hwy. 334) in Gun Barrel City.

Police say Black, driving a 2004 GMC Sierra, plowed into the back end of a 2000 Dodge Intreprid. Rhonda Newton, 43, sitting at the stop light when her vehicle was hit.

The officer said he noticed Black having trouble with his fine motor skills, such as dexterity, and he had difficulty removing his driver’s license from his wallet. He also said he was talking in broken and slurred sentences.

While Officer Cole was returning to the patrol car to turn on the video equipment for sobriety testing, he said. Black stepped back about two steps, then fell over backward.

He said he went back to see if Black was OK, then helped him take a seat on the curb.

After putting him through a series of sobriety tests, Cole arrested Black and took him back to the hospital for another blood alcohol test, and to see if he sustained injuries in the collision.

He was then placed in Gun Barrel City Jail on the DWI charge. Later Monday, he was transferred to Henderson County Jail.

Black posted a $1,500 bond, and was released about 10 p.m. If convicted, this would be his third offense, making it a felony.

Tool councilman A.J. “Red” Phillips also said it was his understanding that Black came to work after being released from the clinic the first time.

Black has not responded to calls by the Athens Review or the Cedar Creek Pilot for comment since the incidents.

Phillips said he knew Black took medication because of his history of heart problems, but that he’d never known him to drink.

Other council members declined to comment, but a council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday.

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