San Antonio’s Clayton Perry receives probation in DWI, hit-and-run cases
San Antonio City Councilman Clayton Perry received a deal with no jail time and probation on his DWI and hit-and-run cases on Friday, April 14. He pleaded no contest to both charges brought against him after he was arrested last winter for an alleged hit-and-run on November 6, 2022.
The District 10 Councilman was given 12 months of probation, 24 hours of community service, a vehicle ignition lock, and must pay a $500 fee and court costs, according to the San Antonio Express-News. He will also receive random testing and cannot drink alcohol during his probation.
Perry will keep the two misdemeanor offenses off his criminal record if he meets the requirements in his probation period. He is not running for re-election in May after serving three terms on the council.
In the hit-and-run crash in November, an arrest affidavit revealed that Perry drank 14 alcoholic beverages in a four-hour time frame before the incident. Surveillance footage showed Perry drinking the beverages between 4:45 and 8:45 p.m. at a Northside bar, the Evil Olive bar, before driving away alone in his Jeep Wrangler.
District 10 Councilman Clayton Perry appears at the City Council meeting on Thursday, Feb 16, 2023. Perry has indicated he will not seek re-election.
Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer
The crash occurred around 9 p.m. at Jones Maltsberger and Redland Road, not far from Perry’s home. Reports revealed Perry hit a Honda Civic that was stopped at the traffic light and then fled the scene. A witness at the crash followed Perry to his home and called the police.
Body camera footage released the same week of the incident showed a disheveled Perry on the ground in his backyard, slurring his words and bleeding from a laceration on his head.
In the video, Perry’s Jeep is seen parked against the garage and he appears to have soiled himself. When asked about the events leading up to that point, he repeatedly told the responding officer, “I had a good time.” Perry was not given a sobriety test or taken into custody on the night of the incident.
After the deal, District Attorney Joe Gonzales released a statement that addressed how Perry’s position on the City Council did not and does not entitle him to special deference. He said, “The District Attorney’s Office evaluates each case on its own facts and circumstances.”
“Mr. Perry sought deferred adjudication which, if successfully completed, would not result in a conviction. Based on the fact that Mr. Perry caused an accident as a result of the DWI and then fled the scene, we believe that a plea offer of deferred adjudication probation was not appropriate,” Gonzales said. “Instead, we sought a sentence of one-year probation with a conviction. However, as always, we respect the judgment of the Court.”
