SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Councilman Marc Whyte’s first court appearance in his DWI case has been delayed for the second time in three months.
Whyte (D10), representing the city’s Northeast Side, was arrested on Dec. 29 on suspicion of DWI following a traffic stop. His arraignment was scheduled for Jan. 30, but his attorney, David Christian, said they requested a reset because prosecutors did not have all the evidence yet, specifically from the blood draw.
Court records show an arraignment was still held on Jan. 30, but Christian said neither he nor Whyte were there.
Instead, a hearing was scheduled for Tuesday morning in front of Judge Eric Peña in Bexar County Court 11; however, Christian said Monday they had asked for another reset and prosecutors had agreed.
Christian said the defense had received the blood testing results but is still reviewing them.
The attorney said it’s common for DWI cases to be reset numerous times, and he has “no idea” yet if the case is headed for a plea deal or a trial.
Whyte is expected to appear for a pretrial conference on May 14.
He faces a Class B misdemeanor charge, which is punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.
San Antonio police say Whyte was speeding that night on Northeast Loop 410 and didn’t properly signal a lane change, prompting the stop just after 11 p.m. The councilman admitted to having three drinks over the course of the evening and was arrested after undergoing a battery of field sobriety tests.
A pair of lawyers KSAT spoke with were split on how damning or not the video of the arrest was.
Though the District 10 councilman declined to provide a sample, San Antonio Police got a warrant for his blood, which was sent to the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Laboratory in Austin.
Testing found Whyte had 0.089 grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters in his blood, according to the results released by DPS. The legal limit is 0.08 blood alcohol content (BAC). The lab did not find any drugs in his system.
Whyte had also returned from Australia earlier that day. The councilman has repeatedly said he did not feel intoxicated that night but takes responsibility for his actions.
The city council censured Whyte after the arrest, and the mayor suspended him from his committee assignments.
Whyte is the second District 10 Councilman to face a DWI charge in as many years. He was arrested a year and a day after his predecessor, Clayton Perry, was booked on his DWI charge.
Perry ended up pleading “no contest” to charges stemming from a November 2022 drunken hit-and-run crash. He received one year of probation, which is nearly up.
Christian also represented Perry.
Whyte took office in June 2023 after winning a seven-way race for Perry’s empty seat.