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Bronco pleads guilty to DWAI

Lesser charge nets Marshall 1 year probation

By Julie Poppen, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published September 12, 2008 at 3:34 p.m.
Updated September 12, 2008 at 11:53 p.m.

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Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall faces misdemeanor battery charges for a March incident in Atlanta involving a former girlfriend.

Photo by George Kochaniec Jr. / The Rocky

Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall faces misdemeanor battery charges for a March incident in Atlanta involving a former girlfriend.

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Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall pleaded guilty Friday to a lesser charge of driving while ability impaired in connection with an October drunken-driving arrest.

As part of a plea agreement, the city attorney's office also agreed to drop a pending city traffic case. Marshall was cited in June for straying from his lane and driving without a valid license or proof of insurance while traveling north on Interstate 25 near Broadway.

Judge Doris E. Burd said she wasn't giving him any special treatment by sentencing Marshall to one year of probation because it was his first drinking- and-driving-related offense.

Burd said Marshall must complete 24 hours of community service, and was hit with eight points on his driver's license.

Marshall declined to comment and left the courtroom with his attorney, Harvey Steinberg.

Steinberg said Marshall already had completed more than nine months of alcohol treatment, been evaluated by an alcohol counselor and submitted to random urinalysis tests, which he passed.

The prosecutor said she would not object to ending Marshall's probation early if he does what he's supposed to do, which includes attending victim impact panels.

By accepting a plea, the football star, who has vowed to correct his off-field mistakes, dodged a jury trial that was slated to begin in four days.

Marshall's blood alcohol level was .116, prosecutors said, when he was arrested. The legal limit for DUI in Colorado is .08.

The judge also agreed to drop charges of driving the wrong direction on a one-way street and wandering out of his lane.

Last month, Marshall said he wasn't going to dwell on past mistakes.

"All you can worry about is the future, getting better on the field and in the community - show my teammates that I'm still here every day no matter what's going on, and I come to play," he said.

Comments

  • September 12, 2008

    5:48 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Vector049 writes:

    Another Bronco role model.

  • September 12, 2008

    8:59 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    EZBakeOven writes:

    What a loser. Athletes are not heroes or role models. Quit worshipping these a-holes!

  • September 12, 2008

    11:44 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    wjrudy writes:

    So... no chance of this guy changing his life? True, many athletes have blown their opportunites because of repeated moronic decisions... but to write someone off, due to the experiences of others (as tempting as that may be) isn't fair. Maybe Mr. Marshall will be different. Let's hope so - for his sake.

  • September 12, 2008

    11:51 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    headsup5 writes:

    Marshall says "All you can worry about is the future, getting better on the field and in the community - show my teammates that I'm still here every day no matter what's going on and I come to play."

    Grow Up!!! And until you do, do everyone a favor and stay off the streets.

  • September 13, 2008

    12:31 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    HopiMedicineMan writes:

    Substance abuse is the cotter pin of the Democratic Party. It is the key cultural element of the 1960s culture. Drugs are used for recreation. Equality is window dressing. It holds people in their place. Where's the hope in striving for equality? What do Democrat kids say to their Democrat parents, "I want to be equal when I grow up."