Granbury Mayor Ninnian Hulett, who was arrested early Sunday morning on a drunken driving charge, has a record of two previous arrests, according to court documents.
Hulett, 68, was arrested after midnight Sunday by Granbury police on a charge of driving drunk and was released later Sunday on $1,000 bond, according to Hood County Sheriff Roger Deeds.
Hood County court records show Hulett, a retired auto worker known around town for driving a red Corvette, was arrested for evading arrest in March 2006.
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He was found guilty in March 2007 and sentenced to six months community supervision, 25 hours of community service, and fined $500.
In November 2007, court records in Tarrant County show he was arrested in Fort Worth for driving while intoxicated.
A Fort Worth police report at the time noted he was involved in an accident on Southeast Loop 820.
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Witnesses who were following him told officers he was “moving erratically” and were getting ready to call 911 to report him when he swerved to the right, crossed the lane dividers and struck another vehicle, according to the report.
Officers reported they smelled a “strong odor of an alcoholic beverage” when they questioned Hulett. He failed a roadside sobriety check and was arrested. An intoxilyzer determined his blood alcohol content was .122 percent. The legal limit in Texas is .08 percent.
Tarrant County court records show Hulett was fined $909, and given two years’ probation.
Police records in Fort Worth show it was Hulett’s second arrest for driving while intoxicated but it was not clear when or where the first arrest was.
Hulett was first elected mayor in 2013.
David Southern, a longtime previous Granbury mayor who ran against Hulett, said Hulett’s criminal record was not widely known among voters.
“I didn’t take out ads in the newspaper although I knew it,” Southern said. “I wanted to win on my own rights.”
Southern said he happened to see Hulett Saturday night hours before his arrest at a restaurant near the Granbury town square.
Hulett has not returned calls seeking comment.
A spokesman for Granbury police said Hulett’s arrest Sunday was classified as first-offense DWI but that the department would review court records and upgrade the charges if warranted.
The department was preparing to release more information on the arrest later Monday, he said.
