Former Asheville police chief's wife pleads guilty, sentenced for driving while impaired
ASHEVILLE — The wife of former Asheville Police Chief David Zack pleaded guilty in Buncombe County District Court March 28 to driving while impaired.
Judge Julie Kepple sentenced Mary Clarissa Hyatt-Zack to a 120-day suspended sentence and 12 months of unsupervised probation, according to court records.
To avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, according to District Attorney Todd Williams, the N.C. Conference of District Attorneys handled the case. Its executive director, Kimberly Spahos, said Kepple also ordered that Hyatt-Zack, 44, obtain a substance abuse assessment, comply with recommended treatment, complete 48 hours of community service, pay a fine and not operate a vehicle until she is licensed or has a court-ordered limited driving privilege.
More: Wife of Asheville police chief arrested, charged with driving while impaired
Hyatt-Zack was convicted on a level 4 DWI offense, which applies to first-time offenders with a blood alcohol content level at or above 0.15% or repeat offenders with a blood alcohol content level below 0.15%.
Hyatt-Zack was arrested Nov. 2 after she “unlawfully and willfully did drive a vehicle on N.C. 280, Airport Road, while subject to an impairing substance,” according to her APD arrest warrant. Her vehicle license plate number, as listed in court records, corresponds with a crash report for an accident that occurred around the same time and at the same location of her arrest.
The crash report, obtained by the Citizen Times, indicates Hyatt-Zack blew double the legal limit at .16 blood alcohol content.
Around 5:50 p.m. Nov. 2, Hyatt-Zack was driving a 2020 GMC truck and collided with an unknown driver of a 2011 Ford SUV “in a same direction side swipe” when she attempted to turn right onto Airport Road from Hendersonville Road, the crash report said.
The Citizen Times reached out to Hyatt-Zack and her attorney, James Rice, for comment.
More: APD chief's wife in court for impaired driving charge, no longer with safety coalition
Former police chief Zack and Hyatt-Zack were married on Sept. 5, 2022, according to their marriage certificate. She recently indicated the couple is separating.
Zack resigned in December 2023 after three years of running APD – a retirement that current Police Chief Mike Lamb called a “surprise.”
Hyatt-Zack, a listing agent with eXp Realty, was formally an administrator on the Asheville Coalition for Public Safety Facebook group. She left the group after being arrested for the DWI but said her decision to leave was not due to the arrest.
Honor Moor, co-chair of the coalition, previously told the Citizen Times that Hyatt-Zack made her decision to leave the coalition “completely on her own.”
The Citizen Times does not typically report on misdemeanor DWIs except in cases of prominent figures, elected officials, members of law enforcement and in certain other circumstances.
In 2013 the Citizen Times reported that then-Asheville Police Chief William Anderson's son, Chad Anderson, was arrested and charged with obstruction of justice after leaving the scene of a crash. Chad Anderson was also charged several months later with a DWI in a separate incident.
In 2014 the Citizen Times reported that then-City Council member Cecil Bothwell was arrested and charged with DWI. He later pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor.
Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at rober@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Former Asheville police chief's wife pleads guilty, sentenced for DWI
