Baltimore Ravens Sergio Kindle sentenced to two years probation for drunk driving
Sergio Kindle, linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens, pleaded guilty to charges of driving under the influence of alcohol on Tuesday May 10, 2011 at a courthouse in Howard County, Maryland.
Instead of the recommended 30 days in jail, Howard County District Court Judge Neil Edward Axel sentenced Kindle to five days in jail and two years of unsupervised probation. Normally, a felon would get two years probation, a $1,000 fine and one year in
jail, but Judge Axel waived the fine and all but five days of the year in jail.
Kindle will not even serve the five-day jail sentence because he was credited with serving five days in a treatment facility in Maryland last week. He enrolled in the treatment program voluntarily and was also ordered by Judge Axel to stay away from alcohol
and to attend help sessions every week.
Kindle spoke only in court, declining requests for comments and interviews as he was leaving the courthouse.
"I apologize and am remorseful for my actions," he told the judge.
Judge Axel noted that Kindle was indeed remorseful because he asked for help in addressing his alcohol problem at his own expense after he was arrested in December. Kindle’s lawyer, Warren Alperstein, said that he was happy with his sentence saying that
“he is eager to put this behind him but certainly recognizes the need to continue to address the issues that caused him to be here today.”
After being drafted in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Ravens out of the University of Texas, Kindle missed the entire season after he fell down two flights of stairs before training camp started and fractured his skull.
"Well, Sergio has made a lot of progress from the time he fell down the stairs," Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said. "Right now, it's still in medical hands. We are very optimistic that there may be an opportunity for him to get back on the field.
When will that happen? We're not sure."
This is not the first time that Kindle has had a problem with driving. While still at Texas, Kindle was charged with driving under the influence. Another time, he crashed into an apartment building and admitted that he was texting while driving.
Dario Broccolino, State Attorney, was not pleased with Kindle’s sentence, reminding everyone that his blood-alcohol content in the latest case was 0.17, which is twice the 0.8 legal-limit in Maryland, as well as his drunken driving charge in 2007.
"A second-time offender should have some more serious sanctions imposed on him," Broccolino said. "I don't care if he's a football player or a Redskin or a Raven. I'm disappointed that the judge's sentence didn't follow our recommendation."
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