Lamar Odom Charged With DUI
Lamar Odom has been charged with one count of DUI.
Odom was arrested the morning of August 30 in San Fernando Valley for “driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.” The 33-year-old was pulled over by California Highway Patrol for driving 50 mph on the 101 Freeway. Police said Odom was driving in a “serpentine manner.”
The former Lakers player initially ignored police and drove past three exits before finally pulling over. Odom showed obvious signs of intoxication and failed several field sobriety tests. He was taken to a nearby police station and refused all chemical tests. As a result, his driver’s license was suspended for a year. Odom was released on $15,000 bail later that morning.
According to TMZ, the fact that Odom refused to take a blood alcohol test helped him. Normally a defendant would be charged with two counts of DUI, one for driving under the influence, and another for driving with a blood alcohol content of.08 or higher.
If convicted, Odom will likely get probation and have to attend an alcohol education course since he is a first-time offender. He will be arraigned September 27.
The Los Angeles Times published an article saying that their reporter, Adolfo Flores, had been involved in a car accident caused by Lamar Odom the week before the DUI. The crash wasn’t reported to police, so there was no record of it, but Odom apparently hit a car that rear-ended Flores’ vehicle just off the 101 Freeway.
According to the Times articles, Flores tried to exchange information with Odom, but he initially refused because it “didn’t even look that bad.” Flores said his car and the other car sustained moderate damage to their bumpers, and Odom’s white Mercedes SUV had damage near the driver’s side headlight. When Flored finally got Odom’s information, he tried to give it back three times. He asked Odom if he wanted him to keep it, to which Odom responded, “No, I need it to drive” before taking it.
Earlier this week, Lamar Odom was sued for over $565,000 by a photographer who claimed the NBA player assaulted him back in July.
[Photo credit: Bridget Samuels / Flickr]
