Stallworth To Plead Guilty Tues (1 Viewer)

[Couch Potato]

Per Associated Press:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/articl...wWxjlgD98RGRM80

Browns' Stallworth to plead guilty in Fla. DUI

By CURT ANDERSON – 34 minutes ago

MIAMI (AP) — Attorneys say Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte' Stallworth has agreed to plead guilty to DUI manslaughter charges and would serve some jail time for a Miami car crash in which a pedestrian was struck and killed.

Prosecutors and Stallworth's attorney confirmed to The Associated Press on Monday night that a deal has been struck. The 28-year-old Stallworth is expected to be in a Miami courtroom Tuesday to enter the plea.

Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office spokeswoman Terry Chavez says the family of victim Mario Reyes wants to resolve the case. She says the deal includes a short jail sentence and lengthy probation. She would not provide details.

Police say Stallworth had a blood-alcohol level of .126 after the crash, well above Florida's .08 limit to drive. Prosecutors say Stallworth struck Reyes after a night on the town.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

 

[doubletrouble]

I thought someone on the Herald board made an interesting comment about the cat killer and Stallworth. "watch the cat killer receive more time than this over paid knuckle dragger"

http://www.miamiherald.com/486/story/1098958.html

 

[Bri]

I thought someone on the Herald board made an interesting comment about the cat killer and Stallworth. "watch the cat killer receive more time than this over paid knuckle dragger"

http://www.miamiherald.com/486/story/1098958.html

there was some weird stuff in this case. I'm not saying in anyway that it's right.I don't recall exactly. Wasn't he flashing and honking and the pedestrian just didn't care or ran out in front of him anyway?

There was something not evasive about the pedestrian's actions that I thought was odd.

End result was horrible. Would a jury have been able to wrap their head around that?

 

[noneother]

I am not a lawyer nor do I play one on TV..

He needs to do jail time, just like Plax... however, I would support a work release, where he is in prison 6 months every year, and playing football or community service the other 6 months... 90% of his wages going to the family and/or charities of the family's choosing.

from what i know, he appears quite remorseful... which is more than some people when these tragedies occur.

 

[HellToupee]

30 days jail time

 

[wadegarrett]

30 days jail time

 

[HellToupee]

30 days jail time

30 Days jail10yrs probation?$$$ settlement with family & protection form a lawsuitcommunity service

 

[phillyphan07]

30 days!! WOW!

here's the link

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4262751

 

[slowkidz]

30 days jail time

30 Days jail10yrs probation?$$$ settlement with family & protection form a lawsuitcommunity service

Wow. Just wow.

 

[HellToupee]

good deal for all concerned

 

[rifkin]

So we've gone back to the Code of Hammurabi where if you are rich and commit homicide on a poor person you just pay a fine.

 

[Kiddnets]

disgusting

 

[Moniker]

disgusting

All of the people with this type of outlook do realize that the guy ran out in front of him, right? It's even questionable whether or not it was even in a crosswalk.As Hell said, it's a good deal for all involved. Including the taxpayers who now don't have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to prove something that they were never going to be able to prove.

 

[zadok]

I like Donte Stallworth, he seems like a really nice guy. HOWEVER, if he didn't have millions of dollars to pay off the family of the deceased, he would be in prison for 4 years, not 30 days. This is not "equal protection under the law".

 

[CaptainHook]

How is this disgusting? I wouldn't be surprised if this was 100% the pedestrians fault with stallworth being required to take legal blame simply because he was slightly over the legal limit.

You people with your revenge justice need to grow up.

 

[fourd]

How is this disgusting? I wouldn't be surprised if this was 100% the pedestrians fault with stallworth being required to take legal blame simply because he was slightly over the legal limit.You people with your revenge justice need to grow up.

Can you tell me how far over the legal limit it should be before it wasn't 100% the pedestrian's fault?

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

How is this disgusting? I wouldn't be surprised if this was 100% the pedestrians fault with stallworth being required to take legal blame simply because he was slightly over the legal limit.You people with your revenge justice need to grow up.

Easy Cap30 days seems light here. Someone died - operating a vehicle while intoxicated and killing someone the punishment seems light.

 

[HellToupee]

I bet 75% of the sentence was helped by the way Stallworth & his attorney went about their business and cooperating as well as showing remorse with the DA and 25% by $$

 

[rzrback77]

What I recall was that he flashed bright lights at the guy and did not even slow down. 0.126 is over 50% above the legal limit and someone died. I am amazed that it is only 30 days.

 

[bcr8f]

What I recall was that he flashed bright lights at the guy and did not even slow down. 0.126 is over 50% above the legal limit and someone died. I am amazed that it is only 30 days.

That's what he said if I recall. There were no witnesses that backed up his story.

 

[ScottyFargo]

Unreal.

 

[bcr8f]

How is this disgusting? I wouldn't be surprised if this was 100% the pedestrians fault with stallworth being required to take legal blame simply because he was slightly over the legal limit.You people with your revenge justice need to grow up.

Easy Cap30 days seems light here. Someone died - operating a vehicle while intoxicated and killing someone the punishment seems light.

Light???It's an insult to the whole justice system. How can DA's defend against those who say money buys your way out of crimes in this country?Why should anyone think they'll gt a fair shake if they don't have $millions?

 

[Bill S]

disgusting

All of the people with this type of outlook do realize that the guy ran out in front of him, right? It's even questionable whether or not it was even in a crosswalk.As Hell said, it's a good deal for all involved. Including the taxpayers who now don't have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to prove something that they were never going to be able to prove.

Who cares if he was in a crosswalk or not? The point is that if he wasn't drinking, then his reaction time/decision making would have been better and he might have been able to stop. Also, maybe he would have stopped/slowed down rather than just flash his lights/honk his horn.This is why drinking and driving is illegal and so dangerous.

 

[Bill S]

How is this disgusting? I wouldn't be surprised if this was 100% the pedestrians fault with stallworth being required to take legal blame simply because he was slightly over the legal limit.You people with your revenge justice need to grow up.

Can you tell me how far over the legal limit it should be before it wasn't 100% the pedestrian's fault?

 

[CaptainHook]

How is this disgusting? I wouldn't be surprised if this was 100% the pedestrians fault with stallworth being required to take legal blame simply because he was slightly over the legal limit.You people with your revenge justice need to grow up.

Can you tell me how far over the legal limit it should be before it wasn't 100% the pedestrian's fault?

Even if he was asleep at the wheel it could have still been 100% the pedestrian's fault. The driver's intoxication level doesn't necessarily has anything to do with it. I wouldn't expect you to understand this post after making a comment like that though.l

 

[twistd]

Is it me, or is Dante Stallworth's sentence really light? He will do 30 days in jail, 10 years of probation, and 10,000 hours of community service. He was driving drunk, and he killed a guy. So for that 30 days in jail? Michael Vick did two years in jail for dog fighting. Good thing Stallworth wasn't drunk and ran over a dog. He would have gotten a year. I think he got off really light on this. Do the Browns cut him? Sorry, I didn't see the other thread.

 

[Carter_Can_Fly]

The irony here is that Burress may get more time than Stallworth. If he does the justice system is beyond flawed. Well I guess it already is, but this just brings it more into light.

 

[wadegarrett]

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte' Stallworth today received a 30-day jail sentence after pleading guilty to DUI manslaughter in a Miami courtroom.

Stallworth was charged in the death of Mario Reyes, a pedestrian who was struck and killed by Stallworth's Bentley on March 14 in Miami Beach.

The Miami Herald reported that Stallworth was immediately taken into custody and that after he gets out he will serve two years of house arrest followed by eight years of probation, according to his plea deal. He will also lose his driving privleges for life and have to perform 1,000 hours of community service.

Stallworth had faced four to 15 years in prison before the plea agreement.

 

[twistd]

good deal for all concerned

Bull, 30 days in jail is pitiful. He killed a guy while he was driving drunk. But Michael Vick does 2 years for dog fighting. Stallworth should be doing at least a year in prison at a minimum. This is ridiculous.

 

[fourd]

How is this disgusting? I wouldn't be surprised if this was 100% the pedestrians fault with stallworth being required to take legal blame simply because he was slightly over the legal limit.You people with your revenge justice need to grow up.

Can you tell me how far over the legal limit it should be before it wasn't 100% the pedestrian's fault?

Even if he was asleep at the wheel it could have still been 100% the pedestrian's fault. The driver's intoxication level doesn't necessarily has anything to do with it. I wouldn't expect you to understand this post after making a comment like that though.l

He wasn't asleep, he was driving while intoxicated. But evidently you think that's ok by your comment. So the question stands, did he have to be double the legal limit, 3x? Please tell me the circumstance under which the driver who is intoxicated has NO legal liability for striking and killing a pedestrian. It sounds like you think it's ok to drive "slightly" intoxicated. When should one not drive? Please give me the blood alcohol level where you draw the line.

 

[CaptainHook]

I can't tell you the line. It's probably closer to .12 than .08, but this doesn't really matter. The fact of the matter is his intoxication level should be irrelevant if this was the pedestrian's fault.

I don't know why you think ruining 2 lives instead of 1 is necessarily the most fair and moral outcome here but I happen to disagree.

 

[Ron_Mexico]

I can't tell you the line. It's probably closer to .12 than .08, but this doesn't really matter. The fact of the matter is his intoxication level should be irrelevant if this was the pedestrian's fault.

Reaction time, Cap'n.This is a ludicrous statement.The intoxication level is very relevant.

 

[fourd]

I can't tell you the line. It's probably closer to .12 than .08, but this doesn't really matter. The fact of the matter is his intoxication level should be irrelevant if this was the pedestrian's fault. I don't know why you think ruining 2 lives instead of 1 is necessarily the most fair and moral outcome here but I happen to disagree.

You keep saying it was the pedestrian's fault, so where is the proof of that? The fact is Stallworth was driving when he shouldn't have been. There's no grey area here. Stallworth's life is already ruined.

 

[whoknew]

I like Donte Stallworth, he seems like a really nice guy. HOWEVER, if he didn't have millions of dollars to pay off the family of the deceased, he would be in prison for 4 years, not 30 days. This is not "equal protection under the law".

But isn't that ok? Isn't the family the victim here? If you were them, wouldn't you rather have him out of jail playing football and paying you money than in jail earning nothing?

 

[Kiddnets]

disgusting

All of the people with this type of outlook do realize that the guy ran out in front of him, right? It's even questionable whether or not it was even in a crosswalk.As Hell said, it's a good deal for all involved. Including the taxpayers who now don't have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to prove something that they were never going to be able to prove.

Who cares if he was in a crosswalk or not? The point is that if he wasn't drinking, then his reaction time/decision making would have been better and he might have been able to stop. Also, maybe he would have stopped/slowed down rather than just flash his lights/honk his horn.This is why drinking and driving is illegal and so dangerous.

This - IMO - once you are over the limit and are in any type of accident its hard to argue that its not your fault.

 

[phillyphan07]

The comparisons between Vick, Plax and Stallworth don't really hold water.

Vick intentionally ran a dog fighting ring.

Plax intentionally carried an unlicensed, concealed gun into a crowded night club. (He didn't intentionally shoot himself, but he's being charged for possessing the gun not shooting himself)

Stallworth didn't intend to kill the guy. I agree that the sentence is light, but the justice system tends to reward any criminal for admitting the act, having no priors, being remorseful, etc. I don't think a "poor" person would have gotten 30 days but I don't think they would have gotten 15 years either.

You also have to consider that a 1 or 2 year sentence would end his career and I think a judge would, and should, consider that. If a bank executive went to jail for 2 years for DUI manslaughter he or she could easily go back to work in the same field and work back up the career ladder. Thats not happening for your average NFL player and the judge should consider the loss of his future employment as part of the sentence.

 

[safariplanet]

Aren't there people who get checkpoint DUI's at .09 and do more than 30 days in jail just because they can't make bail?

This is ####### petty.

Stallworth flattens a ped at twice the legal limit and gets 30 days. Suddenly drinking and driving doesn't sound so bad.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

Kills a guy and gets 30 days. Vick gets 2 years for ####### dog fighting. What a joke. Let's see how hypocritical Goddell is.

 

[safariplanet]

BTW, who ever would've guessed that mandatory minimum sentences weren't mandatory or minimal when the defense has a few nickels to rub together.

 

[a_troll00]

Any average Joe killing a pedestrian with a blood alcohol level of .126 would be getting 10 years. Even after paying off the victims family, he got off very light.

 

[Moniker]

disgusting

All of the people with this type of outlook do realize that the guy ran out in front of him, right? It's even questionable whether or not it was even in a crosswalk.As Hell said, it's a good deal for all involved. Including the taxpayers who now don't have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to prove something that they were never going to be able to prove.

Who cares if he was in a crosswalk or not? The point is that if he wasn't drinking, then his reaction time/decision making would have been better and he might have been able to stop. Also, maybe he would have stopped/slowed down rather than just flash his lights/honk his horn.This is why drinking and driving is illegal and so dangerous.

Nobody's arguing that drinking and driving isn't dangerous... or stupid. That's only part of the problem here (and, unfortunately, the part that everyone who is mad about this is focusing on).The crosswalk matters because it wasn't just Stallworth who was wrong in this. The speed limit there is 50mph. If a guy jumps out at you in a place where you are not expecting a person to be (on a ramp to the highway), you are most likely going to hit him. Honestly, think to yourself how much you really pay attention to crossing pedestrians while you are on the off/on ramps of a highway. While the 30 day sentence is definitely light, the prosecution was going to have a very difficult and very costly trial ahead of them.

 

[Adebisi]

Vick and the girl who cooked the cat in the oven both deserve more jail time than Stallworth. Vick and the girl both intentionally killed animals in extremely cruel fashions. Stallworth got into a car accident in which his BAC was over the limit. We don't even know if he was really "drunk;" just that his BAC was over the limit. If he's a heavy drinker, he may have about as buzzed as a light drinker would be after one glass of wine.

 

[TitusIII]

All we have is the drunkards story...$ buys freedom, it always will...

 

[Ron_Mexico]

Vick and the girl who cooked the cat in the oven both deserve more jail time than Stallworth. Vick and the girl both intentionally killed animals in extremely cruel fashions. Stallworth got into a car accident in which his BAC was over the limit. We don't even know if he was really "drunk;" just that his BAC was over the limit. If he's a heavy drinker, he may have about as buzzed as a light drinker would be after one glass of wine.

wat ?

 

[a_troll00]

He's just defending Stallworth because he used to play for the Patriots.

 

[Dexter Manley]

Stallworth will also receive 2 years of house arrest, which wasn't originally reported.

 

[Adebisi]

He's just defending Stallworth because he used to play for the Patriots.

Stallworth was a disappointment with the Patriots. I really have no personal feelings one way or the other with Stallworth. From what I gather (and I admittedly have not followed this case very closely), some pedestrian wandered out in front of his car and Stallworth hit him. It doesn't sound like he was driving erratically, and it does sound like he was extremely cooperative and remorseful. If I have any of these things wrong, please correct me.Vick and the girl went to extreme measures to torture and kill animals. That's not really up for debate.If Stallworth was drunk, he should not have been driving. But I am not convinced that he was.

 

[imagroid]

The comparisons between Vick, Plax and Stallworth don't really hold water.

Vick intentionally ran a dog fighting ring.

Plax intentionally carried an unlicensed, concealed gun into a crowded night club. (He didn't intentionally shoot himself, but he's being charged for possessing the gun not shooting himself)

Stallworth didn't intend to kill the guy. I agree that the sentence is light, but the justice system tends to reward any criminal for admitting the act, having no priors, being remorseful, etc. I don't think a "poor" person would have gotten 30 days but I don't think they would have gotten 15 years either.

You also have to consider that a 1 or 2 year sentence would end his career and I think a judge would, and should, consider that. If a bank executive went to jail for 2 years for DUI manslaughter he or she could easily go back to work in the same field and work back up the career ladder. Thats not happening for your average NFL player and the judge should consider the loss of his future employment as part of the sentence.

We saw this line of defense in the Vick vs. Leonard thread. I don't even care how many days he gets, or if our justice system is flawed..etc... However this defensive argument that I have bolded really irks the living crap outta me. The intentional crime committed was getting into the car intoxicated. It doesn't matter if he meant to kill the guy or not. That's why they have a manslaughter charge.

 

[imagroid]

If Stallworth was drunk, he should not have been driving. But I am not convinced that he was.

So what you are saying is that they should make exceptions with people who have a high alcohol tolerance even if they blow over .1????

 

[Adebisi]

The comparisons between Vick, Plax and Stallworth don't really hold water.

Vick intentionally ran a dog fighting ring.

Plax intentionally carried an unlicensed, concealed gun into a crowded night club. (He didn't intentionally shoot himself, but he's being charged for possessing the gun not shooting himself)

Stallworth didn't intend to kill the guy. I agree that the sentence is light, but the justice system tends to reward any criminal for admitting the act, having no priors, being remorseful, etc. I don't think a "poor" person would have gotten 30 days but I don't think they would have gotten 15 years either.

You also have to consider that a 1 or 2 year sentence would end his career and I think a judge would, and should, consider that. If a bank executive went to jail for 2 years for DUI manslaughter he or she could easily go back to work in the same field and work back up the career ladder. Thats not happening for your average NFL player and the judge should consider the loss of his future employment as part of the sentence.

We saw this line of defense in the Vick vs. Leonard thread. I don't even care how many days he gets, or if our justice system is flawed..etc... However this defensive argument that I have bolded really irks the living crap outta me. The intentional crime committed was getting into the car intoxicated. It doesn't matter if he meant to kill the guy or not. That's why they have a manslaughter charge.

Didn't this happen really early in the morning? What if he had been out drinking the night before, slept it off, but had drank so much that the alcohol was still in his system? Maybe it wasn't intentional.Awesome avatar, by the way.