RB Lynch’s trial date has been set in DUI case
Oct 17, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch (24) against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Marshawn Lynch has been assigned a trial date of Dec. 27 for the DUI he was charged with in July 2012, according to his attorney, Ivan Golde.
Lynch was arrested in Alameda County, Calif., in the early morning of July 14, 2012 for allegedly driving under the influence, according to ESPN.com’s Eric D. Williams.
Williams reported:
"Lynch, 27, was arrested in the early morning by the California Highway Patrol when a police officer allegedly observed him driving north on Interstate 880 in Oakland, weaving in and out of lanes in a white Ford van and nearly colliding with two cars.After failing a preliminary sobriety test, Lynch was taken into custody and transported to the Alameda County Sheriff Department’s North County Jail in Oakland. Lynch submitted to a breathalyzer test, which came back positive with his blood alcohol content over the state’s legal limit of 0.08, according to police."
On Friday, a judge in Alameda County denied the motion to dismiss the case. Golde, Lynch’s attorney, has said that he will seek a continuance to push the trial date to next year, after the Seahawks season ends, according to the National Football Post.
NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk reported that Golde believes the officer that arrested Lynch changed his story when asked how long he watched Lynch drive under the influence. According to Golde, the officer originally said he witnessed Lynch drive for one-fifth of a mile, then changed his story to say he watched him for a full mile.
“The officer drastically changed his story on that critical piece of information,” Golde said. “The impression the DA’s office seems to be making is that they are singling him out to show that high-profile players can’t get away with these things. After all of what Marshawn does for this community, for the police to lie and change their story to prosecute him is inexcusable.”
Lynch will be allowed to play this season, regardless of what comes of the case. A suspension is unlikely, even if he is found guilty, since “the standard penalty for a first-offense DUI is a two-game fine”, according to NBC Sports.
Lynch, one of the leading rushers in the NFL this season, missed two days of practice this week but is expected to play Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.