Former Callaway County sheriff pleads guilty in DWI case, gets probation pending judge’s approval
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Former Callaway County Sheriff Clay Chism pleaded guilty Thursday in his Randolph County DWI and resisting arrest case, according to online court records.
Chism was charged last fall with a pair of misdemeanors: driving while intoxicated and resisting arrest. A pretrial conference was scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday. A jury trial had been set for Jan. 4.
Court records show he pleaded guilty Thursday to DWI. The resisting arrest charge was dropped.
Chism was sentenced to two years of unsupervised probation. A judge will have to approve the deal. Randolph County prosecutor Stephanie Luntsford said the sentence was a standard outcome in the county for someone's first DWI conviction.
Chism was removed from his position as Callaway County Sheriff in June after his peace officer’s license was suspended, amid allegations of drinking and buying alcohol while on the job. Darryl Maylee was appointed interim sheriff.
Moberly police were dispatched to an Arby's parking lot Oct. 6 after receiving a report of property damage. An officer believed Chism was intoxicated and arrested him.
According to the Randolph County Sheriff's Department, Chism crashed his personal vehicle into a concrete barrier. Chism was arrested and posted a $2,000 bond.
A probable cause statement from November says Chism was asleep when an officer came up to his pickup truck and a puddle of vomit was on the ground outside the driver's side door. An open bottle of "Mike's Harder Lemonade" was in the center console, the officer wrote. He had to be shaken awake, the officer wrote.
The statement says Chism refused to get out of the vehicle when commanded and resisted officers who pulled him out. He smelled like alcohol, his speech was slurred and he was staggering, the officer wrote.
Luntsford said that while Chism's behavior could be seen as resisting arrest, she was comfortable dropping the charge based on how he acted.
"It wasn't done in an aggressive or violent manner," Luntsford said.
It wasn't immediately clear how the plea would effect Chism's job status or his peace officer's license.
