After he was allowed to keep his license due to a clerical error following a DUI last year, former U.S. attorney Stephen Wigginton was charged with driving under the influence for the third time in two and a half years after he was involved in an Edwardsville crash.
“The defendant admitted to being involved in a motor vehicle crash at the intersection of St. Rt. 157 and Club Centre Ct,” Officer John Arendell wrote in a Dec. 26 police report. "Upon speaking to defendant I smelled a strong alcoholic beverage emitting from his breath, had slurred speech, unsteady on his feet and had glassy eyes.”
Arendell wrote that Wigginton, 56, showed impairment on the standardized field sobriety tests. His preliminary breath test result was .23, which is nearly triple the legal blood alcohol limit of .08.
According to the police report, Wigginton was driving a gray 2017 Jeep passenger car at the time of the collision, which is similar to the vehicle description provided in the police report from his DUI on New Year’s Eve last year. He had also previously gotten a DUI in May 2017.
Wigginton posted $100 bail following his arrest last week. He is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 5 at 1 p.m.
Madison County board member Mike Walters, chair of the county's Judiciary Committee, applauded the officers who stopped Wigginton.
“I think in all three instances, they’ve done a fine job,” Walters said.
He said he hopes Wigginton would learn his lesson and get help to prevent the situation from happening again.
Walters added that he believes it was the Madison County Circuit Clerk’s office’s fault that Wigginton was driving in the first place.
“I certainly hope they remember what happened, and I hope the circuit clerk’s office doesn’t drop the ball on this one,” he said. “And hopefully something can be done to stop this gentleman from driving.”
“This is serious, and this is how people die,” Walters continued, “because we continually let serial DUI drivers back on the road.”
Wigginton’s license was valid at the time of his most recent DUI due to a scheduling mistake by the circuit clerk’s office following his New Year’s Eve DUI last year.
On March 7, (former) Associate Judge Jennifer Hightower ordered Wigginton’s statutory summary suspension be rescinded after she found the state failed to conduct a hearing on Wigginton’s petition to rescind within 30 days of its filing.
Wigginton’s license had been previously suspended on Jan. 14, 2019, in an order indicating his driving privileges would be suspended for three years beginning Feb. 15. He was expected to be without a driver’s license until Feb. 15, 2022.
Wigginton’s attorney, Curt Dawson of Lucco Brown Threlkeld and Dawson LLP, requested a judicial hearing to rescind the statutory summary suspension on Feb. 1. He requested a hearing, which was not scheduled on time.
The clerical error that followed Wigginton’s second DUI spurred claims of political favor and lead to a special meeting of Madison County’s Judiciary Committee, where publicity of the error itself was hotly debated.
After Wigginton’s statutory summary suspension was rescinded in March, Madison County Board member Chrissy Dutton called a press conference to draw attention to the seriousness of the issue and share her story of when her brother was killed by a drunk driver.
Madison County Circuit Clerk Mark Von Nida had previously told the Record that scheduling a judicial hearing on statutory summary suspension is the responsibility of the circuit clerk’s office.
Von Nida could not be reached for comment regarding Wigginton’s Dec. 26 DUI.
A statutory summary suspension is issued when a motorist refuses to submit to blood alcohol testing or if a test reveals a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or more.
Wigginton was also issued a statutory summary suspension following his most recent DUI, disqualifying his driving privileges for a minimum of one year. The police report states that Wigginton surrendered his license at the time of his arrest.
Wigginton was first charged with driving under the influence on May 23, 2017, after his 2009 Cadillac ran off US 40 eastbound from Interstate 55-70. He wiped out 40 feet of fence and pulled up five posts, crossed a ditch and kept driving with a headline missing, loose parts dragging and enough damage under the hood of his vehicle to produce smoke and a grinding noise.
Troy officer Bryan Brown reported that Wigginton’s eyes were red and glassy and his speed was thick-tongued. Brown also wrote in the report that Wigginton told him that he drank a glass of vodka while meeting with clients.
According to the police report, when Brown asked for identification, Wigginton said, “You know who I am.”
Brown told him he did not know him and Wigginton responded, “Your boss does,” according to the report.
Special prosecutor David Rands negotiated a plea, in which Wigginton agreed to pay $1,500, seek treatment, and spend a year under court supervision, and Rands agreed to dismiss the lesser violations.
Wigginton signed an affidavit on July 7, 2017, stating he completed alcohol evaluation out of state.
Former Madison County Associate Judge Luther Simmons accepted the plea on July 11, 2017. Three months later, he ended Wigginton’s court supervision.
Then on New Year’s Eve in 2018, Edwardsville officer Nicholas Henderson responded to a Sonic restaurant after an anonymous call was made about a silver Jeep.
Henderson wrote in his report that he spotted the Jeep as it exited to Plummer Drive and drifted to the center of the road and the oncoming lane.
Henderson initiated the stop and Wigginton advised the officer that he had been a prosecutor for Madison County and the U.S. attorney, according to the police report.
The report states that Wigginton had slurred and mumbled speech, smelled of alcohol, stumbled when exiting his vehicle, couldn’t follow the eye stimulus and had to be caught by officers after taking six steps.
Wigginton told assisting officers conflicting reports on where he was staying, but was taken to his room at the Country Hearth Inn.
He was later issued tickets for driving under the influence and improper lane usage.
Rands was again assigned to handle Wigginton’s second DUI charge. That case has been continued to Thursday.