Post by CAChiefsFan on Mar 4, 2005 20:07:53 GMT -5
By TONY RIZZO
The Kansas City Star
For Chiefs cornerback Eric Warfield, it was the first chance to be the better role model he said he wanted to be. And he had a captive audience — literally.
As more than a dozen jail inmates waited for their cases to be called, they listened to him talk frankly Thursday about his alcoholism and the trouble it has caused him.
But the prosecutor pointed out it was not Warfield's disease that landed him in a courtroom. It was his choice to drink and drive. For that, a judge sentenced Warfield to 10 days of “shock time” in jail, followed by 80 days of house arrest and a year of probation.
The Chiefs are anticipating that Warfield also will receive a suspension of up to four games for violation of the NFL's drug and alcohol policy.
Warfield was ordered to pay a $1,500 fine and perform 100 hours of community service as well. Johnson County District Judge Pro-tem Dan Vokins said he wanted Warfield to do that service talking to teens and young adults.
“You're a talented young man,” Vokins told him. “But I think you're screwing up that talent with alcohol.”
Warfield, who turned 29 on Thursday, pleaded no contest in January to driving under the influence of alcohol. It was a felony because it was his third DUI conviction in four years, according to Assistant District Attorney Adrian Gilby.
Warfield was arrested last Sept. 20 after he was stopped by Overland Park police on Interstate 435 near Mission Road for speeding and not staying within his lane of traffic. His blood alcohol level was later tested at 0.189 percent, Gilby said. The legal limit in Kansas for adults is 0.08 percent.
Warfield told the judge he hopes that what he has learned “will make me a better person and a better role model.”
“I regret what I've done to myself, my family and my friends,” he said. “I know I put myself in a bad situation when I got behind the wheel after drinking.”
Gilby said that Warfield also endangered every other person on the road that night and that he needed to begin making better choices.
“Drunk driving is a crime, it's not an illness,” Gilby said.
The Chiefs had little to say about Warfield's sentencing.
“I'm in no position to make any comment,” Chiefs president/GM Carl Peterson said. “The league prohibits me from saying anything. It's in their hands.”
Defense attorney Kevin Regan said Warfield has been clean and sober since his most recent arrest and is taking steps to address his alcohol problem, including a recent 28-day stay at an inpatient treatment facility.
He described Warfield as a good person who put himself in a bad situation. Regan said Warfield accepts responsibility for his crime and recognizes he has a disease that he will have to deal with for the rest of his life.
While he is on probation, a device will be attached to Warfield's car that prevents the engine from starting until he gives an alcohol-free breath sample. He also will have to submit to random testing. Vokins warned that the slightest hint of alcohol consumption will land him back in jail for up to a year.
“I can make sure you don't drink for 12 months,” the judge said. “After that, you're the one who has to decide right from wrong.”
The Kansas City Star
For Chiefs cornerback Eric Warfield, it was the first chance to be the better role model he said he wanted to be. And he had a captive audience — literally.
As more than a dozen jail inmates waited for their cases to be called, they listened to him talk frankly Thursday about his alcoholism and the trouble it has caused him.
But the prosecutor pointed out it was not Warfield's disease that landed him in a courtroom. It was his choice to drink and drive. For that, a judge sentenced Warfield to 10 days of “shock time” in jail, followed by 80 days of house arrest and a year of probation.
The Chiefs are anticipating that Warfield also will receive a suspension of up to four games for violation of the NFL's drug and alcohol policy.
Warfield was ordered to pay a $1,500 fine and perform 100 hours of community service as well. Johnson County District Judge Pro-tem Dan Vokins said he wanted Warfield to do that service talking to teens and young adults.
“You're a talented young man,” Vokins told him. “But I think you're screwing up that talent with alcohol.”
Warfield, who turned 29 on Thursday, pleaded no contest in January to driving under the influence of alcohol. It was a felony because it was his third DUI conviction in four years, according to Assistant District Attorney Adrian Gilby.
Warfield was arrested last Sept. 20 after he was stopped by Overland Park police on Interstate 435 near Mission Road for speeding and not staying within his lane of traffic. His blood alcohol level was later tested at 0.189 percent, Gilby said. The legal limit in Kansas for adults is 0.08 percent.
Warfield told the judge he hopes that what he has learned “will make me a better person and a better role model.”
“I regret what I've done to myself, my family and my friends,” he said. “I know I put myself in a bad situation when I got behind the wheel after drinking.”
Gilby said that Warfield also endangered every other person on the road that night and that he needed to begin making better choices.
“Drunk driving is a crime, it's not an illness,” Gilby said.
The Chiefs had little to say about Warfield's sentencing.
“I'm in no position to make any comment,” Chiefs president/GM Carl Peterson said. “The league prohibits me from saying anything. It's in their hands.”
Defense attorney Kevin Regan said Warfield has been clean and sober since his most recent arrest and is taking steps to address his alcohol problem, including a recent 28-day stay at an inpatient treatment facility.
He described Warfield as a good person who put himself in a bad situation. Regan said Warfield accepts responsibility for his crime and recognizes he has a disease that he will have to deal with for the rest of his life.
While he is on probation, a device will be attached to Warfield's car that prevents the engine from starting until he gives an alcohol-free breath sample. He also will have to submit to random testing. Vokins warned that the slightest hint of alcohol consumption will land him back in jail for up to a year.
“I can make sure you don't drink for 12 months,” the judge said. “After that, you're the one who has to decide right from wrong.”