May 2007

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The owner of the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team was arrested near San Diego on Tuesday on suspicion of drunk driving, authorities said.

Jerry Buss, 74, was stopped just after midnight after two California Highway Patrol officers saw him driving his Mercedes-Benz on the wrong side of the road in the coastal community of Carlsbad.

After failing a field sobriety test, Buss was taken into custody, given a blood test and booked on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and with a blood-alcohol level over 0.08.

"Although I was driving only a short distance, it was a bad decision and I was wrong to do it," Buss said in a statement. "It was a mistake I will not make again."

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Buss pleads guilty to drunk driving

Lakers owner is sentenced to five years' probation and fined $1,900 for misdemeanor.

September 5, 2007

Lakers owner Jerry Buss entered a guilty plea to misdemeanor drunk driving Tuesday in San Diego Superior Court. Buss, who was arrested in May after being stopped for driving his gold Mercedes-Benz on the wrong side of the road in Carlsbad, was sentenced in a Vista courtroom to five years' probation and fined $1,900.

Judge Martin Staven also ordered the 74-year-old owner to take part in a first-conviction program and attend a program administered by Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

"It was very standard for a first drunk-driving conviction," said prosecutor William Wood. "He was treated exactly like everyone else charged and convicted of that crime."

Buss had a blood-alcohol level of .13%, according to Wood. The state limit is .08. Buss was arrested after failing a field sobriety test. Wood said a subsequent blood test showed no evidence of drugs in Buss' system.

Buss was not required to be in court Tuesday and had no comment after the sentencing..

In a statement released after the arrest, Buss said, "I was wrong to do it. It was a mistake I will not make again."

[ Open Letter to Jerry Buss ]