LADUE, Mo. (Court TV) —
Five years after pleading guilty to involuntary
manslaughter for an accident that killed a woman, St. Louis Rams defensive
end Leonard Little is again in trouble with the law.
Little was
arrested over the weekend and charged Monday with driving while intoxicated
and speeding.
Police said Little's 2003 Mercedes was going 78 miles per
hour in a 55 mph zone. A statement filed by police said Little had
bloodshot and watery eyes, smelled of alcohol and failed three sobriety
tests after he was stopped early Saturday morning.
Driving while
intoxicated normally is a misdemeanor. However, because of Little's 1999
guilty plea to involuntary manslaughter in a drunken-driving crash,
prosecutors charged him as a persistent offender, making the case a felony.
He faces up to four years in prison if convicted.
Little was
suspended for the first eight games of the 1999 season after pleading guilty
to involuntary manslaughter in a June 1998 crash that killed Susan
Gutweiler. Little was sentenced to 90 days in the city workhouse and four
years' probation, and ordered to perform 1,000 hours of community
service.
The accident occurred after a night of celebrating on Little's
24th birthday. A blood test showed Little had a blood-alcohol level of 0.19,
nearly twice the legal limit of 0.10, at the time of the
accident.
Little went to his first Pro Bowl after last season and has
played with the Rams his entire six-year career. He was fifth in the NFL
with 12.5 sacks last year.
