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49ers Aldon Smith Plead No Contest to DUI Charges and Now Struck With 9 Game Suspension

49ers Aldon Smith Plead No Contest to DUI Charges and Now Struck With 9 Game Suspension

The hammer of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has fallen hard on 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith.  Goodell suspended Smith for nine football games due to his violations of the NFL’s personal conduct policy and substance abuse policy.  Smith will start his suspension this Saturday and will finish on November 10th, the day after the 49ers play the New Orleans Saints.

The heavy suspension came shortly after Smith wrapped up his criminal cases involving DUI, possession of marijuana, and possession of weapons.  Just before the start of training camp, the 24 year-old plead no contest to the DUI and weapons charges and was sentenced to three years of probation and 11 days of work crew.

After his DUI arrest back in September 2013, Smith was suspended indefinitely from the team and sought out help with substance abuse.  He enrolled himself in an in-patient treatment center and has claimed he has remained sober ever since.  When deciding Smith’s punishment, Goodell said he considered Smith’s time in rehab and that it was in his favor.

Niners general manager Trent Baalke supported his star athlete when he released this statement on Friday, “Our organization has known this decision would come and we have prepared for it as a team. Aldon has taken responsibility for his actions and has continued to show growth personally and professionally. We will continue to support him, but it is time to put this matter behind us and focus on the season ahead.”

And yes, they better focus on their season ahead, because the Seahawks are ready to be the World Champs again! Go Hawks!!

 

Written by Senior DUI and Criminal Defense Attorney David O

Co-written by Sarah Ann

49ers’ Aldon Smith Charged with Possession of Marijuana and DUI, Now Suspended Indefinitely From Team

49ers’ Aldon Smith Charged with Possession of Marijuana and DUI, Now Suspended Indefinitely From Team

This past Friday, pro football player Aldon Smith, linebacker for the 49ers, was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana and DUI (driving under the influence).  Despite the arrest, the 49ers allowed Smith to play in Sundays game against the Indianapolis Colts.  When the game ended, Smith returned to the locker room to discover his locker was empty.  Decisions had been made by 49ers’ CEO, Jed York, to punish the 23-year-old by immediate suspension from the team “indefinitely.”

Smith was arrested Friday morning at 7am in the morning by San Jose police.  Allegedly a witness saw Smith crashed his Bentley into a tree and called 911 to report the accident.  No one was hurt during the collision and Aldon walked away uninjured.  However, police suspected Smith of drunk driving.  Smith failed the DUI field tests and the breathalyzer test revealed BAC level of .15, almost twice the legal limit of .08.  Aldon Smith was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana and DUI.  Smith was booked into county jail and bailed out later that day.

This is Aldon’s second DUI arrest, his first DUI charge occurred in Miami in January of 2012.

Aldon released statements after Sunday’s game addressing his DUI and possession of marijuana arrest saying “First off, I wanted to apologize to the team, the organization, my family and everybody I let down. I also wanted to let it be known that this is a problem and it’s something that I will get fixed, and that I’ll do everything in my power to make sure that this never happens again.”

Rumor has it Aldon Smith has already sought out an alcohol treatment program to get help.  Jed York stood by Aldon stating, “Again, I’ll support our players as long as they’re willing to work toward getting better and being better teammates, better members of the community. I believe that Aldon wants to do that, and I will support him and I will stand by him as long as that’s what he’s willing to do.”

Smith will need an experienced DUI and criminal defense lawyer to navigate through these new DUI and possession of marijuana charges.  If found guilty of the DUI, Aldon Smith may suffer an even longer football suspension enforced by commissioner Roger Goodell, who considers a DUI a high level concern.

 

Written by S.O