Tony La Russa, manager of the Chicago White Sox, was charged in February with driving under the influence of his car after he allegedly smoked on the side of a Phoenix-area road, according to court records obtained by ESPN.
It is the second known drunken driving arrest for La Russia, who confessed to the DUI in 2007 in Jupiter, Florida.
Femmer’s 76-year-old Hall Hall has long been regarded as one of the baseball’s lesser-known managers, with La Russia leading the White Sox last week, surprising the dugout throughout the game.
When ESPN arrived Monday night, La Rusa said, “I have nothing to say,” and hung up.
A White Sox spokesman said the organization was aware of the incident.
“Because this is an active case, we can’t comment further at this time,” he said.
At 11:40 p.m. on Feb. 24, a peace officer answered the call and La Russia remained standing with his SUV, according to an affidavit by the Arizona Department of Public Safety. La Rusha told the officer, who discovered the “mild smell of alcoholic beverages,” that he had dined with friends in Los Angeles, for which he was working as a special adviser. La Rusa was stopped near Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, and he told the officer he hit something and hit a tire, according to the affidavit. After a field hygiene test, La Rusa was taken into custody. In the affidavit, the peace officer called him “argumentative.”
According to the affidavit, La Rusa refused to submit for a breath test or provide a sample of his blood or urine, according to the affidavit, and the officer obtained a search warrant for taking two blood vessels from La Rusa. That’s the normal procedure for DUI cases in Arizona, said Michael Munoz, a Phoenix-area DUI criminal defense attorney who is not involved in the case. Munoz also said it is not uncommon for cases to not be filed for several months due to the slowdown caused by the coronavirus epidemic; However, other law enforcement sources in Arizona told ESPN that the delay seems too much.
A spokeswoman with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office Fees told ESPN he was unable to comment on the pending case, but said: “Charges were assigned to our office fees by the Arizona Department of Public Safety for DUI,” and initially there was a delay due to filing. In the wrong jurisdiction.
Information from the Maricopa County Justice Courts shows that the case is Oct Oct. Entered on the 28th – the day before La Russia was officially taken over by the White Sox – and notes that La Rusa was cited for driving under the influence and registering blood. Alcohol content of .08 or higher, which is a misdemeanor. La Rusha faces up to 10 days in prison if convicted, although Munoz said in most cases first-time offenders serve one day, pay a fine and use an ignition interlock device for up to a year. Munoz said the DUI more than seven years ago would not be considered as a previous DUI under Arizona law, in which repeat offenders are severely punished.
La Rusa was previously arrested for DUI after falling asleep at a traffic light near the St. Louis Cardinals ’spring training facility, which he operated for 16 years and led to two World Series. La Russia’s blood-alcohol levels were then .093% above the legal limit of .08%. Josh Hancock, the Cardinals pitcher, was arrested five weeks before he was killed while driving under the influence and colliding with a parked truck.
On the day of his guilty plea to the DUI in 2007, La Rusa said in a statement: “I accept full responsibility for my conduct, and assure everyone that I have learned a very valuable lesson and that this will never happen again.”
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