A driving while intoxicated charge against Wimberley ISD board member and former Hays County Commissioner Will Conley has been dismissed following a toxicology report that found no alcohol or drugs in his system. However, Conley said the experience left a lasting mark.
Conley was arrested April 23, 2024 in Kyle after rear-ending another vehicle on Kohler’s Crossing. Officers noted signs they believed indicated intoxication, including slow speech, unsteady movements and performance on field sobriety tests. Conley was charged with DWI and unlawfully carrying a weapon, the latter stemming from a legal firearm found in a locked center console that would have been illegal to possess had he been intoxicated.
Conley denied being intoxicated at the time of the arrest. He requested a breathalyzer test, but Kyle police said they do not administer them. He was then taken into custody, and a blood sample was collected under a warrant.
Months later, toxicology reports from the Texas Department of Public Safety showed no alcohol or drugs in his system. Hays County Assistant Criminal District Attorney Landon Campbell formally declined to prosecute the case on Jan. 22, and both charges were dismissed.
“I’m relieved and happy that the process ultimately showed the facts of the matter – that I was not intoxicated that day,” Conley said. “I have never been arrested before, never been through a process like this.”
He said he felt powerless during the encounter, particularly when officers initiated the process of arrest and blood draw.
“It never crossed my mind that I would be arrested that day,” Conley said. “I was talking to the fire and EMS personnel at the scene about the county’s new dispatch system that I helped implement in Hays County before I left to see how that was working. The next thing I know, I’m being cuffed on Kohler’s Crossing in the middle of the afternoon.”
Though cleared, Conley said the consequences of the arrest were immediate and significant. He gained a new perspective going through the judicial system for the first time. His car insurance costs skyrocketed. He shouldered thousands in legal costs and had to pay additional fees to have his record expunged, even though no substances were found in his system. He was also clear that he didn’t fault the police but believes the tools available to law enforcement to assess impairment without an arrest and blood draw are inadequate.
“Law enforcement is put in a tough spot,” Conley said. “I think it’s vital to give them the tools to make sure that they can do their job well. And in this circumstance, and as I’ve learned, they’re not given the tools to be able to definitively get a good read on this [without arresting someone.] … We live in a world of [artificial intelligence.] We live in a world where we routinely are shooting large objects out into space and carefully landing them here, back on Earth. You’re telling me we can’t live in a world where a law enforcement officer is given the tools to tell if somebody is sober or not out in the field without people going through processing? Without having their blood taken? Without going through years and years of processes, potentially losing their job or having their insurance drop potentially losing their income? Again, I’m blessed and have the ability to pay for all those things and not affect the day-today life of my family, but most people aren’t.” He hopes the experience contributes to a broader conversation about how justice is administered.
“The only outcome I hope to come out of this whole ordeal is that perhaps somewhere down the road we can find a better process and give law enforcement officers the tools they need to ensure that they do their job and keep the public safe without people going through life changing experiences.”
Conley expressed appreciation for the support he received from family and the Wimberley community.
“I want to really thank my community and my family and my employers and everybody associated with my life,” Conley said. “I had a tremendous amount of support going through this, and I’m very fortunate and blessed in that.”
