Ravens' Kindle Pleads Guilty To DWI, No Jail Time
ELLICOTT CITY, Md. (WJZ)--The Ravens top draft pick from last year appears in court in Howard County and pleads guilty to drunken driving charges.
As Mike Schuh reports, some were surprised at the sentence given to Sergio Kindle.
Until December, the most many of us knew about rookie Sergio Kindle is he probably fell down two flights of stairs and cracked his skull, which made his balance so bad he didn't play at all last year.
Since then he's been caught driving drunk twice. On Tuesday, he was silent as he walked into court to plead guilty.
His attorney told the court about the strict alcohol testing and counseling that Kindle was forced to enroll in as an NFL player.
Though the prosecutor said that Kindle needs to spend at least five days in jail, the judge disagreed and said the five-day alcohol inpatient alcohol treatment program that the athlete checked himself into was enough.
Here's what he got:
- 1 year all but five days suspended
- $1,000 fine suspended
- Two years probation
- Abstain from alcohol
- Two self-help meetings per week for two years
The prosecutor was clearly disappointed.
"I think for a second-time offender, a message has to be given not only to that individual but also a message has to be sent to everyone out there," said Dario Broccolino, Howard County prosecutor.
Meantime, county courthouse personnel let Kindle out the back door. He ran to a SUV driven by the security director and refused to answer questions from the press.
When asked if he thought Kindle has gotten it through his head that this sort of behavior is no longer allowed, his attorney replied, "I think he's definitely gotten it through his head," said Warren Alperstein. "Sergio has a lot to lose."
The Ravens hope that Kindle will be able to play if there is a regular season this year.
