Watros pleads guilty, thanks Hawai'i for support
By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer
A "Lost" actress pleaded guilty yesterday to drunken driving in an emotional appearance punctuated by an apology.
Cynthia Watros, who plays Libby on the award-winning ABC show, was fined $312 and ordered to undergo an alcohol assessment and 14 hours of counseling after pleading guilty to a single count of drunken driving. She also had her license suspended for 90 days.
Watros, who appeared in Käne`ohe District Court before Judge James Dannenberg, told the court "I'm sorry," after her guilty plea.
Dressed in a white shirt and gray sweater vest and flanked by her attorney, Lanson Kupau, Watros maintained her composure but at one point paused to wipe away a tear.
After her appearance Watros said she thanked the "people of Hawai`i for their love and support."
Speaking to Watros during the hearing yesterday, Dannenberg said, "This is no fun, but you know how much worse it could have been. You're done with the worst. Get on with your life and good luck."
As part of a plea agreement, a citation for crossing a white line that had been tacked onto the DUI was waived.
Prosecutors said the sentence is typical for first-time offenders.
"She followed through (with the conditions of the plea agreement) and she took responsibility for her actions," Deputy Prosecutor Sean Sanada said after the hearing. "We hope she learned a valuable lesson and this will not happen again. We also want to remind the public that drunk driving is a serious offense."
Watros, 37, and fellow "Lost" actress Michelle Rodriguez, 27, were arrested Nov. 24 in Kailua driving separate cars.
Rodriguez recorded a blood-alcohol level of 0.17, more than twice the legal limit of .08, police said after her arrest. Watros had a blood-alcohol level of 0.10, they said at the time.
Rodriguez last month entered a not-guilty plea on a charge of DUI. Her trial is set for March 30.
Rodriguez, who plays AnaLucia on "Lost," has been charged in Honolulu as a two-time offender, meaning she faces up to 14 days in jail, fines up to $1,500, and the loss of her license for a year.
She has a prior conviction in another jurisdiction for traffic offenses that include drunken driving.
Rodriguez was sentenced to three years' probation June 4, 2004, and ordered to undergo a 30-day substance-abuse treatment program after pleading no contest to three misdemeanors in 2003 related to two different traffic incidents in Los Angeles, according to records filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.
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