Texas prosecutor drops drunken driving charge against Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton

BENTONVILLE, Ark. – Prosecutors in Texas have dropped a 2011 drunken driving citation against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. heiress Alice Walton.

Officials said Monday that the highway patrol officer who pulled over Walton has been suspended and won't be available to testify.

Parker County, Texas, Prosecutor John Forest told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://is.gd/4WDwlt ) that his office had two years to pursue the case against Walton. But the trooper's suspension won't be over by the Oct. 7 deadline.

Forrest said the trooper is on paid leave. The suspension for alleged misconduct began in February.

Walton's attorney, Dee Kelly of Fort Worth, says the matter has been resolved without a formal charge being filed.

The arrest came about a month before the opening of the Walton-backed Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville.

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Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, http://www.arkansasonline.com