England, AR teacher in hot water for forging community service forms in her DWI case and making false job applications omitting her employment and resignation at NLRSD.
Early in the morning of Sunday, November 21, 2021 Conway cop Matthew Edgmon was heading to work for the day in his take-home patrol vehicle. A Ford Mustang blew past him dragging the rear plastic bumper cover behind it.
Edgmon observed the Mustang for a while swerving in and out of it's lane of travel. The Mustang was speeding away from him and once it entered the Conway city limits he was going to pull it over. Edgmon had to accelerate up to 116 mph to catch up with the Mustang.
8, 202
Withrow told Edgmon that she was coming home from her part-time job as a jello shot server at the Electric Cowboy in Little Rock. She also told him she was a teacher in the North Little Rock.
Edgmon detected the smell of alcohol on Withrow's breath.
Withrow failed field sobriety tests and was taken into custody.
A search of Withrow's purse revealed a container of weed...
A vaping device that contained a THC cartridge...
And he found a small clear container marked "neck cream" that contained suspected cocaine residue.
At Conway PD Withrow was given a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) test and blew a .11% (.008% gets you a DWI charge).
Withrow admitted that she had used marijuana and cocaine over the course of the night and confirmed that the vaping device contained a THC cartridge.
There is no reference in the incident report that Withrow possessed an Arkansas Medical Marijuana Card nor that she made any remarks about having one.
Here's the narrative from the incident report that goes into much more detail.
Withrow was arrested and booked into the Faulkner county jail.
Withrow's case was set for trial on March 31, 2022.
At her March 31, 2022 trial she caught a break. The two drug related charges were Nolle Prosequi, meaning that the prosecutor did not pursue those charges. She pleaded guilty to the DWI offense and got a sweet deal on that too.
Was White Privilege a factor?
That probably had something to do with her soft sentence but from records obtained from the Conway City Attorney, it was the State Crime Lab taking over six months to provide lab results for the suspicious pill found in her purse and the other drugs. Toss in the Defense Attorney's offer of accepting a plea deal in which she would cop to the DWI if the other charges were not pursued, it appears that what got the deal done.
Withrow got 2 days in jail (not noted if she received credit for any time served), $1,000 fine and 24 hours of community service work. She also had to complete an Alcohol Safe Education course.
Apparently she used the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce as the agency and she went to Toad Suck Days and claimed that as fulfillment of her sentence.
How do we know it was the Conway Chamber?
Turns out that the she was only credited with half the time she claimed.
According to a notation on the adjusted form, Withrow was notified on May 5, 2022 that she needed additional community service hours. The 24 hours had to be completed by August 31, 2022.
Apparently Withrow said forget that and considered the matter of community service hours concluded.
Then the worm turned and it was determined that Withrow had forged the records.
A warrant was issued for her arrest on November 2, 2022 for failure to comply with her soft sentence.
The warrant was not served on her until October 26, 2023 and a trial on her Contempt of Court charge was set for December 20, 2023.
Withrow's new attorney filed a motion for a continuance on December 8, 2023 and the Court granted that motion on that same day. The trial was rescheduled for February 14, 2024.
On December 12, 2023, Withrow's new attorney waived formal arraignment and entered a plea of not guilty.
Withrow's next court appearance is scheduled for May 8, 2024.
Here's what we know about Withrow's employment as a "teacher" and what she doesn't want her current employer to know.
Withrow graduated from UALR in 2020. During college and afterwards she worked as a substitute teacher in Conway and North Little Rock school districts and at Target. She also worked part-time at the Electric Cowboy in Little Rock selling jello shots, but you won't find that on her resume'.
Withrow was hired by NLRSD in July 2021 and her first day of work was August 10, 2021.
Her background check for that position was run in July 2021. Note that Withrow had and has no license to teach in Arkansas.
Withrow resigned from NLRSD on February 7, 2022 (she incorrectly dated her resignation letter 2020 instead of 2022)
Withrow did not advise that charter school she had been employed by the NLRSD and resigned that position.
This is the resume she used in her application to the charter school. No reference to employment at NLRSD.
In July of 2023, Withrow went to work at the England School District. And suprise, surprise, records obtained from the England School District reveal that Withrow did not list her employment and resignation from the North Little Rock School District.
Although Withrow is employed as a long-term substitute in England, they are paying her the same salary as a certified teacher would receive.
