Gary Wayne Davault resigned his post on Monday as C.K. Bender Elementary School principal following an arrest on DWI and implied consent charges earlier this month, a school official said.
Davault is scheduled for a plea hearing this afternoon in Texarkana, Ark., for DWI first offense and implied consent charges, according to court records.
"He is no longer employed with the district. He resigned his position this morning," Matt Fry, a Liberty-Eylau Independent School District spokesman, said Monday.
Last week, L-E ISD Superintendent Ben Carson told the Gazette Davault, who was hired last summer by the district, had been on administrative leave since March 17.
Michael Friedman, Davault's attorney, declined comment Monday on the pending case. Davault could not be reached for comment.
Davault was arrested by Texarkana, Ark., police at 3:09 a.m. Saturday, March 15, in the 700 block of Realtor Avenue, according to a police report.
The TAPD report, written by Officer Joel Jones, states Texas DPS Trooper Jonathan Baldwin stopped Davault on Realtor Avenue after attempting to stop him on Interstate 30 at Summerhill Road in Texarkana, Texas.
Jones' report states Baldwin told him "the driver continued eastbound for approximately one mile before exiting Interstate 30 onto Realtor Avenue and stopping in the 700 block. Trooper Baldwin then made contact with the driver…"
Jones administered a horizontal gaze nystagmus test, the "9 step walk and turn test" and the "one leg stand test," and Davault had difficulty with the tests, according to police report.
Davault agreed to submit to a roadside preliminary Breathalyzer test, which indicated his blood alcohol content level was .135 percent, according to the report.
The legal BAC limit in Arkansas is .08 percent for those 21 years and older.
Jones placed Davault under arrest and took him to the Bi-State Justice Building. Once there, Devault declined to submit to further tests and he was "escorted to the Bi-State Jail where he was charged with driving while intoxicated first offense and violation of the implied consent law."
Arkansas also has an Implied Consent Law and suspects are legally required to perform any type of chemical test requested by a police officer. Chemical tests include those that detect the amount of alcohol present in a driver's breath, blood or urine. Suspects are expected to comply with any member of law enforcement who requests such tests and may face severe criminal penalties if they refuse.
In October 2012, Davault was arrested in Arlington, Texas, on a driving while under the influence charge.
Details of that arrest and its disposition were not immediately available.
Davault and L-EISD confirmed his Arlington arrest for driving under the influence before coming to Texarkana.
He had served as principal of Lillian Elementary School at Alvarado Independent School District at the time of the Arlington arrest. He served as principal there for nine years.
Last year, Davault told the Gazette he was not asked to resign from that job but he needed some time to get his life together and move forward.
At the time of being hired for L-EISD last June, Carson told the Gazette Davault had a "stellar record" as a school administrator.
If found guilty in Arkansas, first-time DWI offenders face a six-month license suspension, a fine ranging from $150 to $1,000, and up to a one-year jail sentence.