Woman charged with DWI as persistent offender

A Gepp, Arkansas, woman is facing a felony charge here after a single-vehicle crash in Ozark County led to a driving while intoxicated investigation on July 18, 2025.

According to a probable cause statement filed by a Missouri State Highway Patrol corporal, authorities responded to a crash on Route AR south of Bakersfield at approximately 7:16 p.m. 

Investigators alleged that a 2011 Toyota RAV4 left the roadway, crossed the centerline, struck a fence and a tree and came to rest in a field.

The driver, identified as Debra K. Bryant, was found at the scene and was reported to be the sole occupant of the vehicle. The officer stated that Bryant displayed signs of possible impairment, including difficulty standing and walking, slurred or unclear speech, and the odor of alcohol.

The report further alleges that Bryant declined to provide breath samples during the investigation and was partially uncooperative during field sobriety testing. 

She was arrested and is now charged with driving while intoxicated. While that charge is generally a misdemeanor, the case is elevated to felony-level because Bryant is designated as a persistent offender due to at least two previous DWI convictions. 

Bryant is scheduled to appear in court  before Associate Judge Raymond Gross at 9 a.m. June 23. 

She also faces two other misdemeanor cases of operating a vehicle in a careless and imprudent manner and operating a vehicle on a highway without a valid license.