NFL player Donte Stallworth charged with DUI Manslaughter

[HudsonHawk]

AFFIDAVIT -> http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/ima....affidavit.pdf

NFL receiver Stallworth charged with DUI manslaughter - CNN.com

NFL receiver Stallworth charged with DUI manslaughter

(CNN) -- Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth was charged in Florida on Wednesday with killing a pedestrian while driving under the influence, a spokesman for the Miami-Dade County state attorney's office said.

Authorities charged Stallworth, 28, with DUI manslaughter in the death of Mario Reyes, said the spokesman, Ed Griffith.

Stallworth is expected to surrender in court Thursday, Griffith said. The charge is a bondable offense, and bail is expected to be set at $200,000.

According to Griffith, Stallworth's blood-alcohol level after last month's accident was measured at 0.126 percent, higher than the state's legal limit of 0.08 percent.

Stallworth released a statement four days after the incident saying he and his family were "grief-stricken."

"My thoughts and prayers are with the Reyes family during this incredibly difficult time," he said.

If convicted, Stallworth could face up to 15 years in prison.

The state attorney's office said Stallworth was driving a Bentley east on the MacArthur Causeway, which connects Miami, Florida, to the South Beach area of Miami Beach, around 7:15 a.m. March 14 when he struck and killed Reyes, a construction worker.

Reyes, 59, was heading to a bus stop after leaving work, CNN affiliate WSVN reported.

The affiliate said Stallworth cooperated with police, submitting to the field sobriety test and a blood test.

Stallworth, a former University of Tennessee player, has also played professionally for the New England Patriots, the New Orleans Saints and the Philadelphia Eagles.

[jmur5074]

Hopefully it will send a message (likely temporary...but a message nontheless) to other professional athletes that they aren't immune from criminal charges.

[Wolven]

Wonder if he will actually face punishment or get a slap on the wrist???

[mg32]

It all depends on how much money he has. Just look at OJ.

[Hondo]

Hopefully he will spend a couple of months locked up. I know wishfull thinking, but still.....

[tapout]

i have no problem with a judge giving probation to a drunk driver arrested on a routine traffic stop. but if a drunk hits a pedestrian and kills him, that takes it to a whole new level. i cant see him not spending time in jail for this.

[mack]

ESPN this morning reported that he is likely to have jailtime. We shall see, although Florida is pretty strict on DUI's, when I was working in the jail there was a female who was sent off for a minimum 15 years on a DUI manslaughter and it was her first offense, she had a clean criminal record prior.