A Democratic politician from Texas has been arrested for the third time and jailed after being caught driving while intoxicated, according to police.
The incident involves Carla Wyatt, 56, who serves as the treasurer of Harris County, home to the city of Houston. Wyatt, elected in 2022, has faced similar charges in 2023 and 2025. She previously avoided an indictment for burglary of a vehicle by telling a jury she had been checked for a 'mini-stroke' last year, as reported by the Houston Chronicle.
At 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, police in Texas City approached a car that had been reported and found the driver, Wyatt, asleep. An officer woke her and asked where she was, to which she replied she was 'in Heaven.' After repeated attempts to get her location and destination, she said she was in Houston, trying to reach Galveston for a conference the next morning.
Wyatt initially admitted to having one glass of wine that evening but later changed her story to two glasses. The arresting officers said they 'smelled the odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting' from her. According to police documents obtained by ABC13, Wyatt also sat on the rear bumper of her car to remain upright. She subsequently failed a field sobriety test and was arrested for driving while intoxicated.
Wyatt was taken to the Galveston County jail but has since been released, per jail records. Her attorney, Christopher Downey, stated, 'We are looking forward to obtaining all of the available discovery in this case and investigating the basis for this arrest. Dr. Wyatt denies that she committed any criminal act whatsoever.'
Local officials now face the question of whether they can suspend or expel Wyatt, who is up for re-election this November. In 2023, she was arrested and charged with a DWI for driving nearly double the legal blood alcohol limit. She agreed to a court-issued program to drop those charges. Last year, she was arrested for burglary of a vehicle but avoided indictment after claiming a mini-stroke.
