Charles Barkley Going To Jail For DUI

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Charles Barkley will serve time in jail after pleading guilty to charges of driving drunk.

According to Scottsdale court records, the 45-year-old former NBA star pleaded guilty Monday to two misdemeanor charges related to the same drunken driving arrest.

Barkley, who works as a TV analyst, is set to begin a five-day jail sentence on March 21. The Hall of Famer must pay more than $2,000 in fines and attend an alcohol treatment program. Under Arizona law, he'll also be forced to install an ignition interlock device on his vehicles.

His attorney wasn't immediately available for comment.

Barkley was stopped by police Dec. 31 shortly after leaving a Scottsdale nightclub. He was arrested after failing a field sobriety test. He had a blood-alcohol level of .149 percent, nearly twice the legal limit of .08 percent in Arizona when he was pulled over.

After a six-week leave of absence, Barkley resumed his studio analyst role for TNT last week.

"This is just my bad, no excuses," Barkley said in an interview with TNT colleague Ernie Johnson posted on NBA.com before he returned to work.

"I think that a DUI is unacceptable," he added. "That can't happen and I've got to challenge other people, not just celebrities or jocks. You have to really think before getting behind the wheel after you've been drinking."

Barkley conceded at the time he could face jail time.

"I think it's going to be good for me, to be honest. I need to make sure drinking is not a problem for me," he said. "I just want some professionals to talk to me about it."

If they tell him to stop drinking, "then I'll have to stop drinking," he said.

Asked if he could do that, he replied, "I feel I can do anything that I put my mind to."

Comments

[babs98019]

03:30 AM on 03/01/2009

Yea, I believe the judicial system is stacked against black people. That is clearly evident. However, I think anyone who has a DUI, needs to get a very harse sentence that includes jail time. Any one can think of a person, who knows someone killed by a drunk driver. In my case it was my cousin and his wife. I think we all wonder- why don't these wealthy celebrities hire drivers. I know I would.

[steamboat]

10:08 AM on 02/24/2009

NASCAR is the national sport in Alabama. So I figure a DUI & speeding ticket has probably clinched the governor's nomination for Barkley.

[Gmoney1]

10:01 AM on 02/24/2009

You mean the white guy who stole over 50 mil did not go to jail for one day and was allowed to stay in his multi mil dollar apartment - and the black man has to go to jail for 5 days - Is anyone confused here -

[IrisBittencourt]

10:30 AM on 02/24/2009

BILLION, not million. But, you have stumbled onto a fundamental truth: a racial hierarchy continues to exist in which blacks are on the bottom and "whites" (a term that has changed dramatically over time, such that in the early 20th century, Madoff himself would not have been considered "white" because he is Jewish) are on the top. Contrary to the opinion of most whites, racism is not a thing of the past, but is rather embedded in our culture, language and traditions. The disparity in prosecution and sentencing for so-called "black crimes" and "white crimes" is not a coincidence, just as the designation of blacks as 3/5 of a person was not either. We need to remember that the people who lived in 1850 were just like people living today. They too rationalized an existence that today we would classify as overtly racist or at least racially apathetic. What will people say in 150 years as they look back at our time, where whites profess colorblindness (while living in all-white neighborhoods, going to all-white schools, working in all-white companies, with all-white friends) and actively work to abolish affirmative action programs and employment discrimination laws, characterize blacks as culturally deficient and form groups to promote "white" rights? Can we really say that we are "post-racial"? How much have "white" attitudes changed about blacks since 1850 or 1959? Honest whites need to stand up and tell the truth in our time.

[ResistanceisFutile]

09:51 AM on 02/24/2009

Sir Charles will be much better off, if he gets all of his addictions under control.

[biabouman41]

09:49 AM on 02/24/2009

Is this normal, that with your first DUI you go to prison? Or is this another black thing, like half of the Black US population has been sent to prison for any and anything?

[freddie mertz]

09:47 AM on 02/24/2009

So what, the right-wing crazy Christians are driving everyone to drink then they make the cops pull you over on a BS stop. The DUI laws are as stupid as pot laws. Try catching real criminals...

[AntiSocialite]

10:29 AM on 02/24/2009

Not quite as stupid, but your sentiments are correct. Don't get me wrong, I believe there needs to be some punishment and ultimately you are responsible for your own actions, but DUI first offenses are unreasonably harsh, with much more emphasis put on punishment than education and treatment. They also usually completely revoke driving privileges making employment difficult, if not impossible; and that's only if your employer doesn't fire you simply for getting the DUI. Also, unless you are lucky enough to live in one of the dozen or so US cities with good enough public transportation to get around easily going anywhere, at any time becomes a great hassle. Unfortunately MADD has hijacked this issue and is becoming the equivalent of a temperance movement in an of itself. How else do you explain the fact that the legal limit is now so low that two beers consumed over a one hour period is enough to put most people over? I'm sorry, but anyone with common sense knows that there is a big difference between an individual's level of impairment and the limit of legal intoxication, based on that I would say that a man the size of Sir Charles was not as drunk as being almost twice the legal limit might imply.

Peace

[ResistanceisFutile]

03:14 PM on 02/24/2009

DUIs kill people. A first offense should see 30 days of jail time followed by time at a dry out facility.

Here in Wisconsin they are fighting over how many DUIs constitute a felony. They are thinking of reducing the number to five.

I don't understand drinking and driving. I enjoy a beer as much as the next person, but I don't drink and then drive. How nuch willpower does it take not to drink and drive.

If you go out with the sole purpose of drinking, take a cab, walk, ride a bicycle.

[pfc1369]

09:30 AM on 02/24/2009

Is that five WHOLE days?

[knosiswar]

09:23 AM on 02/24/2009

I hope the good citizens of the state of alabama will now seriously consider Sir Charles as a real contender for the position of Governor. Now that he's in the DUI club with Cheney and Bush that all the hillbillies love so much in bama.

[a human being]

09:11 AM on 02/24/2009

Unfortunately “the rebound records years” are over and forgotten, and since DUI is a crime punished by the law. Mr. Barkley will have to get himself some help and get over his “bad” side.
My best wishes

[american-dolt]

08:57 AM on 02/24/2009

5 Days? What a Country.

[ApolloniaCreed]

08:13 AM on 02/24/2009

It's only five days... not the end of the world. CB has had other run ins with the law... this should not be a surprise.

[yappnmutt]

08:12 AM on 02/24/2009

good thing charles wasn't smoking a phatty. he 'd never work on tv again. blowing a .16, endangering the public, no problem.

[Tiger2Lover]

02:49 AM on 02/24/2009

Why did bush and cheney miss the opportunity to serve in jail?
The obvious answer is that jail was TOO good for them!
bush had 1 DUI, cheney had 2...
They endangered lives and yet the republican voters did not care.
What does that tell you about republican mentality?

[KDay]

11:47 PM on 02/23/2009

Did he have a lawyer? Many people get more than one DUI before they do any time....then again they don't look like Charles. Only in Amerikkka.

[aznurse]

10:30 PM on 02/23/2009

He won't go to "tent city"its would be too dangerous for him. He'll probably get put in a separate cell and have to eat the terrible jail food. He'll be fine and Joe Arpiao will get his name in the paper again.