Mayor of Goddard jailed on suspicion of DUI, traffic offense, booking records show
The mayor of the city of Goddard was arrested and booked into the Sedgwick County Jail by the Kansas Highway Patrol early Saturday morning after allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and driving improperly on a laned roadway, jail booking records show.
Hunter Larkin was appointed to fill the mayoral seat in August 2020 after the abrupt resignation of former Mayor Jamey Blubaugh, who left the post around the same time prosecutors charged him and his wife with counterfeiting tickets to the Sedgwick County Zoo’s annual fundraiser event Zoobilee in 2019. Both were granted diversion.
The booking report released Sunday morning by the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office shows Larkin was booked by the KHP following a traffic stop on Saturday in the area of Tyler and Kellogg. KHP spokesman Trooper Chad Crittenden said Larkin was pulled over on westbound Kellogg at the Tyler Road exit at 1:26 a.m. Saturday after he failed “to maintain a single lane of traffic.”
He was arrested and taken to the jail sometime afterward. Crittenden did not have information about the vehicle Larkin was driving or whether he was alone.
Larkin, 22, did not immediately respond to phone and email messages from The Eagle seeking comment Sunday.
Driving under the influence is a misdemeanor crime in Kansas.
In addition to Larkin’s time as Goddard mayor, he has served as president of the Goddard City Council and is a member of the Career and Technical Education Board for the Goddard public schools, according to the city of Goddard’s web page.
Last year, he lost a primary bid for the Sedgwick County Commission seat in District 3 to incumbent David Dennis. In August, he announced his intent to run for the Kansas House of Representatives in District 101, which includes a swath of Wichita and Goddard, and other portions of Sedgwick and Reno counties.
This story was originally published November 14, 2021 at 10:34 AM.
