Northwest Arkansas Times reports on failed developer's second arrest on allegations of drunken driving

 
FAYETTEVILLE : Developer Barber faces charges including DWI
BY ADAM WALLWORTH
Posted on Friday, September 26, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/238398

Fayetteville police arrested a Springdale developer Thursday on a charge of drunken driving, prompting him to settle a year-old gambling debt out of Las Vegas.
Brandon L. Barber, 32, was arrested after a Fayetteville officer reported finding him shortly before 5 a. m. stopped in the middle of the intersection of Joyce Boulevard and College Avenue.
Barber was booked into the Washington County jail at 8: 18 a. m. on charges of driving while intoxicated, violating the impliedconsent law, running a red light, driving too fast for conditions and not having proof of insurance.
By 9: 45 a. m., Barber had been released on bond. Before he bonded out, his attorney had to take care of a felony warrant out of Las Vegas charging that Barber bounced a $ 16, 000 marker with the Venetian Casino.
Bernie Zadrowski, chief deputy of the check fraud unit of the Clark County (Nev. ) district attorney’s office, said he had planned to extradite Barber on the charge, which carries a prison term of one to years. Zadrowski said that under Nevada law, bad debts of more than $ 250 qualify as felonies.
Zadrowski said the marker was from June 22, 2007, and against Chambers Bank of Northwest Arkansas. A representative for Barber paid the debt and an additional 10 percent fee before noon Thursday, Zadrowski said, which means the charge will be dropped.
A marker in such an instance is essentially a check and processed the same way, Zadrowski said.
“When a person goes to the table and is gambling on credit, they sign a marker,” Zadrowski said. “They say ‘I’m good for this amount’ and are given chips or cash in exchange.”
Barber is scheduled to appear in court on the local charges next month.
The arrest is Barber’s second on a charge of DWI. The first was in September 2006 and involved three mailboxes being run down.
As chief executive officer of The Barber Group and a member of other development groups, Barber is facing legal and financial troubles. His company, Lynnkohn, has filed bankruptcy and he is facing the possibility of having to sell the Legacy Building in central Fayetteville to satisfy debts.
The sale of the building was postponed by the filing of the $ 31. 62 million bankruptcy.
Copyright © 2001-2008 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved. Contact: webmaster@nwanews.com