NFL Hall of Famer Bruce Smith pleads guilty to DUI

VIRGINIA BEACH

Pro Football Hall of Famer Bruce Smith pleaded guilty Thursday in Circuit Court to a charge of drunken driving. In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors dropped charges of speeding and refusing to submit to a blood or breath alcohol test.

Circuit Judge Edward W. Hanson Jr. ordered Smith to pay a $1,000 fine, enroll in an alcohol-safety program and remain on good behavior for a year. Smith, who lives in Virginia Beach, also received a

90-day suspended jail term, and his driver's license will be restricted for a year.

Smith was pulled over on Interstate 264 late on May 14 and arrested after he failed field sobriety tests and refused to take a breath test.

After Thursday's brief hearing, Smith said he wanted to take ownership of his actions and put the incident behind him. He said he has acknowledged drinking wine with friends in Norfolk before his arrest.

"I made the decision I was OK to drive home," he said. "That was the first mistake."

The second mistake, he said, was refusing to take the breath test.

Commonwealth's Attorney Harvey Bryant said that the plea agreement achieved "the goal of having Mr. Smith accept responsibility for his conduct and getting him convicted of DUI."

Smith's case took an unusual turn in June, when the officer who arrested him was also charged with drunken driving. The officer, Bryan Womble, crashed his car while off-duty at the Oceanfront.

He was convicted and sentenced to the mandatory five days in jail for having a blood-alcohol content of .15. Prosecutors considered Womble's conviction - and the fact that he no longer is a Beach police officer - when they reached the plea deal with Smith, Bryant said.

Smith said Womble's situation played no role in his decision to plead guilty.

He was behind the wheel of a Bentley heading east on I- 264 on that May night when Womble pulled him over. Smith admitted to drinking wine earlier, and he was arrested after failing field sobriety tests and refusing to take the breath test.

It was Smith's third DUI charge in 13 years. His first, in 1997, was dismissed. He was acquitted of his second in 2003.

During a trial on July 9 in General District Court, Smith was convicted of DUI, speeding and refusing to take a blood or breath test. He immediately appealed the verdict to the Circuit Court, effectively setting aside the conviction and his sentence, which included a 90-day

suspended jail term, $440 in fines and a one-year suspension of his driver's license.

Smith said Thursday that he thought he had a 50-50 chance of beating the DUI charge in Circuit Court, but he still would have had to face the charge of refusing to take a breath test.

"The risk versus the reward was not in our favor," he said.

He said he hopes to return to his work in the community. He also said he had hired a former state trooper to accompany him when he goes out.

Smith was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August.

He is a graduate of Norfolk's Booker T. Washington High School and Virginia Tech. He played 19 seasons for the Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins before retiring from the NFL in 2003.

Shawn Day, (757) 222-5131, shawn.day@pilotonline.com