Michelle Leonard
(PCSD file photo)
By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A 58-year-old Cushing woman has been ordered to appear in court on Oct. 30 for a preliminary hearing on her third charge of driving under the influence of alcohol, which allegedly occurred seven months after she was released from prison, court records show.
Michelle Lynn Leonard, who has also been known by the surname of Deaton, could be given as much as a 20-year prison term if convicted in her latest case. She remains in the Payne County Jail on $15,000 bail, court records show.
Leonard was arrested by Cushing Police Officer Jonathan Walker at 11:40 pm on June 25, about 17 minutes after her vehicle was observed stuck in a ditch at the intersection of Howerton and Moses, according to his affidavit.
Leonard, who was getting out of the driver’s seat, “was having a difficult time keeping her balance and was stumbling,” the affidavit alleged.
“It should be noted it appeared the vehicle was traveling north on Howerton when it crossed the road and departed the roadway to the west — causing the vehicle to get stuck in the ditch,” the Cushing officer wrote in his affidavit.
When the officer asked Leonard, who smelled of alcohol, what happened, she said, “Well, I turned here, and the dog (in her car) started barking, so I wasn’t paying attention, and I then went right down,” the affidavit alleged.
Leonard said, “‘I was talking on the phone. I shouldn’t have been. That’s what happened. Oh my God, I can’t believe I did this.’ Leonard also advised that she had not consumed any alcoholic beverages,” the affidavit alleged.
During a field sobriety test, “Leonard rocked forward and backward and was unsteady on her feet. I then asked again if Leonard had consumed any alcohol, to which she stated it had been hours ago and that she had just one glass of wine. Leonard asked several times to go home and that she would call someone for a ride.
“I advised Leonard that I would like to continue with tests, which she agreed. I attempted the Walk and Turn test with Leonard. Leonard stated that she didn’t believe she could perform the test because of her spine curvature as well as having fallen and hurt her back the day prior. Leonard advised she was unable to complete the tests,” the Cushing officer alleged in his affidavit.
After Leonard’s arrest, the officer located two open containers of vodka, one almost empty in Leonard’s driver’s side door, and the other mostly full in Leonard’s purse, the affidavit alleged.
According to court records and the state Department of Corrections, Leonard was released from prison last November after serving about 18 months of a four-year sentence for child endangerment in Cushing in 2020 and her second DUI. In 2019, Leonard had been placed on probation for falsely personating another and DUI in Creek County.
In 2014, Leonard had been placed on three years of interstate probation for marijuana possession in Texas after a former felony conviction, Oklahoma DOC records show.
In 2007, Leonard had been given a two-year prison term for conspiracy in Lincoln County of which she served about half, DOC records show.
In 2006, Leonard had been placed on three years’ probation for DUI in Lincoln County in 2004, DOC records show.
