May 24, 2013

Stallworth to Enter Plea Deal, Face 30 Days

June 16, 2009 by 28 Comments

stallworth_courtIn case you missed it, Browns’ WR Donte’ Stallworth has reached a plea bargain with Florida prosecutors.

Exact details of the plea are not known at this time, but Stallworth’s attorney is optimistic that Donte will be able to resume his pro career after his sentence is served-

“Donte’ has a debt to repay and awesome responsibilities to fulfill,” lawyer David Cornwell said. “We have kept NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith, Commissioner Goodell, and the Cleveland Browns apprised of developments as they occurred. Whenever it is appropriate to do so, we are prepared to discuss the circumstances under which Donte’ will resume his career.”

The type of plea entered will be key in determining if Donte’ ever wears the pads again.

As we’ve said before, DUI manslaughter in the state of Florida carries with it a mandatory 3.5-year prison term. Now if Stallworth’s attorney thinks a team is going to sign his client after three years off, he may just be delusional. It could be that they are trying to be creative however. It is possible that they have agreed to separate DUI/involuntary manslaughter charges, which could mean a lighter mandatory sentence. The judge would not have to accept this deal, however.

Two things are certain- A family has suffered a tremendous loss, and Donte’ has more than likely seen his time as a Brown come to an end.

(Update: WKYC reports that Stallworth will serve 30 days in jail, 10 years of probation, 1,000 hours of community service)

(Update 2: Roger Goodell will hand down Stallworth’s punishment prior to camp.  Second-time offenders have a mandatory four-game suspension)

–

(image courtesy TSN)

Related Posts

Zemanta
Filed Under: Browns Tagged With: , , , , , ,
  • MacNip

    Gets drunk, kills a guy and gets only 30 days. Man, the life of a pro athlete.

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com Scott

    Let the comparisons to Michael Vick commence…

  • Midwest Transplant

    @ MacNip: It’s not just athletes, it’s anyone with money. A well-paid doctor or lawyer in Stallworth’s shoes would have fared no differently.

    More so than anything else, this again exposes how much of a joke the United States legal system is. If you have enough money, you don’t go to prison.

  • Clown Baby

    What a relief…..he’ll get to go back to playing football after his 30 days. Then everybody’s life will be back to normal. Except the family who last their father/husband. I don’t know what the Browns could do to punish the guy besides cut him…maybe trade him to Detroit?

  • smrtazz

    And there’s your system of justice for you United States of America…

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com Scott

    It should be added that he will reportedly be on house arrest for two years following. Not sure if house arrest allows you to play football or not…

  • the boogie

    forget comparing him to Vick…let’s see what type of sentence the guy who killed Adenhart gets…there’s a true comparison of similar charge, celeb killing vs. celeb killed, different state obviously, but I’m guessing that guy gets a bit more than 30 days

  • JD

    Also, he has supposedly reached an undisclosed financial settlement with the family…that likely factored into the decision as well, I would think.

  • Swig

    @boogie,
    sorry, they’re not the same. 0.12 is no where near 0.24 (or higher, AP just said over 3x the legal limit).

    Not saying it’s right, just there is a difference between being impaired and being drunk. The decreased reaction time from 0.12 isn’t that much different than driving when tired or driving while on a cell phone. 0.24 is difficult to walk territory

  • the boogie

    Swig – agree, all I was saying is it’s about as close as we’ll get for now – two cases involving “celebs” one on each side in a “similar” incident

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com DP

    What I heard on the radio on the way to the airport was:

    30 days,
    2 years house arrest, during which he CAN play (they allow you to work during HA)
    10 years probation
    Undisclosed financial settlement with family

    That’s the difference between rich and poor right there. Who among us could afford an “undisclosed financial settlement” in addition to legal fees?

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com Denny

    It’s not really applicable to compare to the Adenhart case because, well the guy is a piece of garbage who already had 2 DUI’s, a suspended license, and STILL drove when he had a 0.24 BAC. The guy should get life. I’m not saying what Stallworth did was OK – it’s not by any stretch of the imagination. But the guy who killed Adenhart should be thrown away and never seen again.

  • tim

    theres a HUGE difference between donte and the adenhart guy. the adenhart guy, besides being considerably more drunk and being a repeat offender, was without a doubt the cause of the accident. he plowed right into a the car while running a red light. donte’s case – like it or not – is more complicated since the victim was jaywalking on a road which is not conducive at all to jaywalking. yes donte was legally drunk, but at the same time the victim had no businss jaywalking across a multi-lane causeway where the cars go at a very high rate of speed. this is like jaywalking across the shoreway. obviously the guy doesnt deserve to get killed. regardless, it was going to be pretty difficult for the prosecution to prove that this accident would not have happened had donte not been slightly impaired. that was the burden that the prosecution faced and it would be a tough one to do, especially since any jury would likely have been well aware of the macarthur causeway and would likely have had a bias along the lines of “what the heck was this idiot doing jaywalking across the macarthur causeway in the first place?!” (the same kind of thing i would think if someone were killed jaywalking across the shoreway).

  • adam

    thats a lot of probation and community service

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com Craig

    I won’t go so far as saying Stallworth deserves credit for being a stand-up guy, but he has done everything he could possibly do to try to make up for his horrible mistake. He stepped up and paid a settlement to the family and copped a plea with the state. Given the predicament he put himself in, I am not sure what else he could have done to try to make some kind of amends for this situation.

    Again, horrible decision making got him there in the first place, but all he can do is try to make amends, right?

  • Morph

    um…before we start talking about justice please remember the facts: the guy was not walking where he was supposed to be. He was not in a crosswalk and was running across the street. These are mitigating factors that if the case went to trial there was a possibility that Donte would have been found not guilty. A prosecutor must take these facts into consideration along with the fact that Donte has shown remorse and was able to reach a relatively quick settlement (something that rarely happens in these types of cases).

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com TD

    nothing wrong with 30 days for killing someone

    sincerely,
    Leonard Little

  • BillCowherforHC

    So will he or won’t he be a Brown this year?

  • the boogie

    I think that people are upset b/c they think that stallworth is getting preferential treatment, but from what I’ve been able to find that’s about the “going rate” for similar crimes, however, no one cares to report this. the way that I see it, as long as he actually hasn’t been treated differently than others, then, yes, justice has been served. if people are upset about the sentence for this TYPE of crime, they need to write their legislators in order to complain

  • tim

    dont forget, the victim’s family signed off on the plea.

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com Scott

    receiving a $5mm check is the first step in the grief-recovery process…

  • wowrly

    That’s some major bs. I’d give him 15 years if I were the judge. I hope he never puts on an NFL uniform again.

  • tim

    15 years? the numerous mitigating circumstances in this situation made this an almost impossible case to successfully prosecute.

  • paulbip

    Stallworth is going to have a break-out year this year. Love ya Browns!

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com Denny

    Is that because he’s going to have to break out of jail to play, or what?

    If you’re saying this in jest, you’re close to being comment of the day. Still didn’t beat the “Usain Bolt of condiments” though.

    If you’re being serious, well, I feel sorry for you. Ain’t happening.

  • chompchomp

    Craig, #15, I couldn’t agree with you more. None of us know what the negotiations were prior to the plea. From my perspective, Stallworth did the right thing throughout the whole ordeal. Plenty of pro athletes and celebs would have done everything they could to cast blame elsewhere, at least off of their precious egos.

    I would be willing to take this comment back if I hear something contrary from the Reyes family.

    Here’s to reconciliation and redemption. All the love and peace to the Reyes family.

  • Vehicular Manslaughter

    The judge should be removed from the bench. The fact is stallworth was well over the legal limit and a person died. The fact stallworth paid off the victims family is a civil remedy. This was a criminal case which required a 3 year minimum. They have made a mockery of the system. Do any of you believe under the exact same circumstances, YOU would have only received 30 days.

  • mike

    a guilty verdict required a 3 year minimum – not a guilty plea.

  • Pingback: Donte Stallworth Suspended Indefinitely | WaitingForNextYear

  • Pingback: The Week In Review | WaitingForNextYear