Ex-NFL star Donovan McNabb gets 18 days in jail for Arizona DUI

[November 07, 2015]  PHOENIX (Reuters) - Former National Football League star quarterback Donovan McNabb was sentenced to 18 days in jail on Friday after pleading guilty to misdemeanor drunken driving in Arizona, a court official said.

McNabb, an ex-Philadelphia Eagles standout, also received 72 days of home detention following the jail sentence and must complete 30 hours of community service and undergo counseling under the plea deal in Gilbert Municipal Court, administrator Adam Walterson said.

Police said the retired NFL veteran was arrested on June 28 after rear-ending a vehicle stopped at an intersection for a red light at about 11:30 p.m. in Gilbert, a suburb southeast of Phoenix.

Laboratory results showed McNabb's blood-alcohol content was 0.171 percent, considered to be "extreme DUI" under Arizona law, police said.
 

"He made a mistake and he readily admits it," Connolly told Reuters by telephone, adding that McNabb already has completed the counseling requirement. "He's learned that if you have something to drink you don't drive. Period."

Under the sentence, McNabb will be able to work during the day and spend the rest of the time in county jail.

Video released by police showed the 38-year-old McNabb denying he had consumed alcohol and telling an officer he had taken cough medicine and was ill. He offered to walk home, saying he lived nearby.

The officer is shown telling him that he smelled alcohol on his breath and putting a cooperative McNabb through a field sobriety test.

McNabb was placed on indefinite suspension from his job as Fox NFL analyst following his arrest in Arizona.

It was the second time in two years that police had arrested McNabb for driving under the influence. He spent one day in jail after being arrested in December 2013.

McNabb, a 13-year NFL veteran and six-time Pro Bowler, was the second overall pick in the 1999 NFL draft. He spent 11 seasons with the Eagles, leading the team to four consecutive NFC championship games and one Super Bowl. He also played for the Washington Redskins and the Minnesota Vikings.

(Reporting by David Schwartz in Phoenix; Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Sandra Maler)

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