Former Tyson Foods CFO John R. Tyson pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated and two other traffic offenses Thursday.
Fayetteville District Court Judge Casey Jones sentenced Tyson to 90 days in jail, with 89 days suspended and credit for one day served, in addition to fines and fees totaling $960. Tyson was also ordered to serve 32 hours of community service after he pleaded guilty in person with his attorney, W.H. Taylor of Fayetteville.
Tyson was arrested by University of Arkansas police June 13 in Fayetteville and charged with DWI, making an improper turn and careless driving. A police report said Tyson was driving an SUV near Maple Street and Leverett Avenue and appeared to be going over the speed limit before he made an improper turn and struck a curb.
Police said Tyson’s blood alcohol content tested at 0.191, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08.
Tyson Foods suspended John Tyson from his CFO position after his arrest and in August named Curt Calaway his permanent replacement. John R. Tyson is the son of Tyson Foods Chairman John Tyson and the great-grandson of the company founder.
Tyson Foods did not respond to a request for comment about Tyson’s guilty plea Friday. When Calaway was named full-time CFO in August, the company said John R. Tyson was on a “health-related leave.”
It was John R. Tyson’s second alcohol-related since November 2022. He pleaded guilty in January 2023 to misdemeanor charges of criminal trespass and public intoxication in 2023 after a woman found him asleep in her bedroom; he was fined $440.
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