Rodney King Takes a Plea Deal for DUI

Rodney King, who became a household name after he was brutally beaten by white cops in LA, took a plea deal that reduced his DUI charge to reckless driving.

King was arrested last summer after police stopped him. He was charged with DUI, but his blood alcohol content was .06 below the legal limit of .08. Trace amounts of marijuana were also detected in his blood. A highly-skilled DUI attorney may be able to have charges reduced or dismissed.

King pleaded guilty to reckless driving in exchange the prosecution dropped the DUI. He was sentenced to 20 days house arrest and three years’ probation.

This was King’s second DUI arrest; he had a previous arrest in 2004. Generally, California law requires mandatory jail time for anyone convicted of a second DUI arrest in a period of ten years. It is crucial that anyone facing a second drunken driving charge hire an experienced DUI lawyer immediately.

King has struggled with drugs and alcohol his whole life. He was thrust into the national spotlight in 1991 when LA police officers pulled him over for speeding and intoxicated driving. Four officers were video tapped brutally beating King, which brought national attention to the treatment black men suffer at the hands of white police. The officers were later acquitted of King’s beating, igniting the LA riots that took 53 lives.

A DUI charge is serious whether it is a first or second offense, the impact this has on a person’s future can be minimized when they hire an expert DUI attorney.