NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (AP) — Prosecutors charged Indianapolis
Colts owner Jim Irsay with two misdemeanor counts Friday stemming from
his intoxicated driving arrest near his home in March.
Hamilton
County prosecutors said Irsay was charged with operating a vehicle while
intoxicated and operating a vehicle with a schedule I or II controlled
substance or its metabolite in the body, which carry maximum penalties
of 60 days in jail and $500 fines for each count. A probable cause
affidavit said Irsay was driving under the influence of oxycodone and/or
hydrocodone, both powerful painkillers.
Irsay was arrested near
his home at about 3 a.m. on March 16 with $29,000 in cash and bottles of
prescription drugs in his vehicle. Police said Irsay denied being drunk
and told an officer he had taken several prescription medications
during the day.
A police report said the 54-year-old billionaire was so
disoriented that officers made him sit on the hood of a patrol car to
keep him from falling, and that he had trouble reciting the alphabet.
Police
had filed four preliminary felony counts of possession of a controlled
substance, charges that each carried possible sentences of six months to
three years in prison. Prosecutors took weeks before deciding to file
the misdemeanor charges instead.
The Indianapolis law office
representing Irsay, Voyles, Zahn & Paul, released a statement
thanking the prosecutor’s office for its professionalism in handing the
investigation and "for devoting the necessary care and attention to
determine the facts in this matter did not warrant the filing of felony
charges relative to Mr. Irsay’s prescription medications."
Colts spokesman Avis Roper declined immediate comment. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league is still
reviewing the matter.
"The
NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy applies to all league personnel and holds
all of us accountable. We are reviewing the matter and will take
appropriate action in accordance with the policy," he said in an email.
There
are few examples of the league punishing an owner like Irsay. Detroit
Lions president Tom Lewand was suspended for 30 days and fined $100,000
in 2010 for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy following his
guilty plea to driving while impaired.
The police report said
Irsay stumbled out of his SUV and failed field sobriety tests. After
Irsay refused a blood draw, a judge approved a search warrant to draw
his blood.
Refusing the blood test means Irsay’s driver’s license will
be automatically suspended for one year.
An initial hearing is
scheduled for June 19. Irsay was supposed to have an initial hearing on
March 25, but that hearing was postponed because he had been admitted to
an out-of-state medical facility for inpatient treatment, the
prosecutor’s office said. His family said at the time he was undergoing
treatment "”to help him meet his challenges head-on."
Irsay
acknowledged in 2002 that he had become dependent on painkillers after
several years of orthopedic operations but said he had overcome the
problem.
Irsay resumed his duties with the Colts at the NFL draft
earlier this month and earlier this week he made the unsuccessful
personal pitch to his fellow owners on behalf of Indianapolis’ bid to
host the 2018 Super Bowl.
Irsay became the Colts owner in 1997
after the death of his father, Robert Irsay, and a lengthy legal battle
with his father’s second wife. Forbes magazine has estimated Irsay’s net
worth at $1.6 billion. He has helped build the Colts into a top NFL
team over the past decade behind quarterback Peyton Manning, now with
Denver, and was a key player in the drive to bring the Super Bowl to
Indianapolis two years ago. He is working with some success to rebuild
the team behind young quarterback Andrew Luck while coping with a
divorce that follows a decade-long separation from his wife of 33 years.