Record Powerball winner Jack Whittaker spent $1,700 of his $315 million jackpot Wednesday morning at Raleigh County Magistrate Court.
That was the bond to get him out of Southern Regional Jail.
State Police arrested Whittaker Tuesday evening just north of Beckley on charges of DUI and carrying a concealed weapon.
He was also charged with failure to submit to a Breathalyzer test and failure to maintain control of a vehicle. He was booked at SRJ in Beaver about 1 a.m., officials reported.
Whittaker was arraigned in person before Magistrate T.H. Wills, officials said, but no hearing date was set.
Normally suspects are arraigned via video conferencing from SRJ, but a power outage rendered the video equipment inside the court offices useless, according to Raleigh Sheriff's Lt. C.T. Darlington.
State Police Senior Trooper M.J. Pinardo said he and his partner, Trooper R.M. Giles, were patrolling Interstate 77 Tuesday night when they discovered a 2005 Hummer had crashed into the retaining wall of the exit ramp leading onto U.S. 19 about 8:30 p.m.
The driver of the vehicle was Whittaker, Pinardo said.
Pinardo said he smelled of alcohol, but refused to take sobriety tests and was "extremely belligerent toward both officers."
"While he was being pro-cessed, it was found he had a a loaded handgun in his cowboy boot," added the trooper.
Pinardo said Whittaker had tried to turn onto the ramp, located near North Beckley, but apparently had lost control of his vehicle and hit the wall, blowing the driver's side wheel off the front of the Hummer. There were no passengers in the vehicle, the trooper added.
The 57-year-old was taken to Raleigh General Hospital where he was treated for back pain, then released prior to his transport to jail.
Whittaker -- who opted to take a one-time pay-out of $113 million after winning the lottery -- is the owner of Beckley Speedway.
He was carrying $117,000 in cash when he was arrested, officials reported.
Since winning the jackpot on Dec. 25, 2002, Whittaker has donated millions of dollars to charity and has also had several encounters on both sides of the law.
Most recently, 18-year-old Jesse Tibble was discovered dead inside Whittaker's Scott Depot home on Sept. 16, while Whittaker was out of town. Tibble's death was not ruled to be suspicious.
Three other young men were arrested for allegedly breaking into the home and stealing clothing, guns, jewelry and other items while Tibble's body was inside the house.
Whittaker faces a charge in Putnam County for allegedly assaulting a bar manager in St. Albans in January.
In August 2003, Whittaker was drugged at the Pink Pony, a Cross Lanes strip club, and his SUV broken into and $545,000 stolen. A stripper and the club manager were arrested in the incident.
Three female employees at Tri-State Race Track & Gaming Center in Nitro have filed two lawsuits alleging Whittaker assaulted them at the track last year. Also, two Charleston men are suing Whittaker and a city nightclub, claiming they were injured when they were tossed out of the club at Whittaker's request.
Wreck site is about 3 mile from the local Strip Club.![]()



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