Posted at 9:54 a.m., Tuesday, July 10, 2007
NBA: Lakers owner pleads not guilty to DUI charges
Associated Press
VISTA, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss pleaded not guilty today to two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence.Buss, 74, was stopped May 29 after he was seen driving his car on the wrong side of the road in an unincorporated section of Carlsbad, according to the California Highway Patrol.
According to a criminal complaint filed by the district attorney's office, Buss was under the influence of an unspecified drug but refused to take a chemical test. He was arrested after failing a field sobriety test.
Buss was charged with one count each of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs and driving with a blood-alcohol level of .08 percent or greater.
Buss, who was not required to be in court, entered his plea through attorney David Manning Chodos.
Chodos declined to comment after the hearing.
Buss has previously said he only drove a short distance, but acknowledged that he was wrong to do it.
Buss was near a home he owns in north San Diego County when he was stopped.
