Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

Former CMS principal pleads in DWI case

CLOVIS — A former principal with Clovis Municipal Schools entered a no-contest plea to driving while intoxicated in connection with a November traffic stop, according to court records.

According to a plea agreement filed in July in De Baca County Magistrate Court, Karri Hatley, 52, of Clovis, entered a no-contest plea to a misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated (.08). She received a one-year probation term and various instructions that included 24 hours of community service and ignition interlocks for any vehicle driven during that time.

Hatley declined comment when reached at her home Friday.

As of Friday, Hatley was listed as a preschool principal for Los Ninos and Lincoln-Jackson on the CMS website. Superintendent Renee Russ clarified that Hatley is now a teacher with the district, but declined any other comment regarding her employment or any discipline that may have been taken in connection with the November incident.

According to a criminal complaint filed in January:

• A De Baca County deputy sheriff initiated a Nov. 7 traffic stop west of Fort Sumner after observing a white Ford Taurus with state government plates going 85 in a 55 mph zone. The driver was Hatley, who said she was returning home from a teacher’s conference in Albuquerque. The deputy issued a citation and followed Hatley into town, and continued patrolling after she pulled over near Sumner Avenue and First Street.

• The deputy received a call later that evening about the same vehicle running up a curb east of a Fort Sumner hotel, and found Hatley and another driver who said Hatley nearly struck her after suddenly veering right.

• The officer transported Hatley, who denied consuming alcohol and agreed to submit to any test, to the county detention center. The deputy did not smell alcohol on her breath, and observed no signs of intoxication in Hatley’s speech or walking. However, a breathalyzer test indicated a blood alcohol content level of 0.18. Hatley took a blood test, and was released into her husband’s care based on the district attorney’s office reasoning a summons could be issued if blood test results justified it.

• Test results came back to the deputy on Jan. 7, indicating Hatley’s BAC level at 0.19, and the criminal complaint was filed the next day.

Clovis Municipal Schools policy indicates that possession of intoxicants or illegal drugs on school property, in school vehicles or at school events is prohibited. However, policy covering discipline of professional staff members gives the district wide discretion, including the right to not discipline a staff member for policy violation.

 
 
Rendered 03/13/2024 20:48