Ex-NFL star Bruce Smith convicted of DUI
July 9, 2009
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP)—Former NFL star Bruce Smith was convicted of drunkendriving Thursday by a judge who rejected his claim that old football injuries,not alcohol, were responsible for his poor performance on field sobriety tests.
Smith declined to answer reporters’ questions after his trial in VirginiaBeach General District Court. He promptly appealed the verdict to Virginia BeachCircuit Court, which set a hearing in the case for Aug. 27.
“We just hope for a better result in appealing,” Smith’s lawyer, LarryCardon, told reporters.
Smith also was convicted of speeding and refusing to take an alcohol breathtest. Judge Teresa McCrimmon gave Smith a 90-day suspended jail term and finedhim $350 for DUI. She also suspended his driver’s license for a year forrefusing the breath test and fined him $90 for speeding.
The appeal is scheduled less than three weeks after Smith’s Aug. 7 inductioninto the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Smith, 46, ended a 19-year career with theBuffalo Bills and Washington Redskins as the NFL’s all-time sacks leader. Thedefensive lineman played in 11 Pro Bowls and was a first-team All-Pro selectionnine times before retiring after the 2003 season.
Cardon said during the trial that 11 knee surgeries during Smith’s careermade it difficult to complete sobriety tests that included walking a straightline heel-to-toe and standing for 30 seconds on one leg. Smith was stopped onInterstate 264 in Virginia Beach in May.
Smith, 46, could be heard telling Officer Bryan Womble about the operationsin a videotape of the arrest, recorded by a camera mounted in the unmarkedpatrol car. “I’m a former athlete,” Smith told Womble.
“I understand about your knees and everything,” the officer said, addingthat Smith didn’t have to submit to the tests if he didn’t want to.
The former Virginia Tech standout took the tests anyway, but continued totell Womble about his bad knees.
“I know who you are. I know what you did in your career,” Womble toldSmith.
Smith also had trouble following Womble’s hand movements with both eyes, butCardon said that could have been caused by his client’s multiple concussions orthe glare of lights from traffic in the opposite lanes of the interstate.
Cardon also noted that while Womble reported a strong smell of alcohol, theofficer testified that Smith’s speech was not slurred and that he wascooperative. Cardon said there was insufficient evidence to convict.
But prosecutor Kristin L. Paulding said Smith’s problems with the sobrietytests were not just physical—he also had trouble following instructions. Forexample, Smith was told to walk nine steps and turn around, but he walked 14 andhad to be told to stop.
She also noted that Smith was driving on a shoulder that was clearly markedas closed to traffic and was clocked at 73 mph in a 55 mph zone before he waspulled over. Smith told Womble he and two others had consumed a bottle and ahalf of wine at dinner.
The judge said there was enough evidence that Smith was impaired.
“Mr. Smith was obviously very cooperative, but he couldn’t followinstructions,” McCrimmon said.
Smith has had two previous DUI arrests. A 1997 conviction was laterdismissed, and he was acquitted in another case in 2003. Smith’s injuries werealso raised as a defense in the 1997 case.
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