TMZ reports that Lamar Odom has pleaded "not guilty" to DUI charges following his August arrest. Odom was reportedly not at the hearing Wednesday, but his attorney filed the plea for him. Odom has been embroiled in rumors of drug use as the Clippers backed away from a prospective free-agent deal with the veteran forward this summer. The LA Daily News reports a pretrial hearing was scheduled for Nov. 8, and included some details of the arrest:
According to the CHP arrest report, Odom was driving his white Mercedes-Benz SUV in a “serpentine manner at 50 miles per hour,” showed “objective signs of intoxication and was unable to perform field sobriety tests as explained and demonstrated.”
Odom was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs and taken to the Los Angeles Police Department’s Van Nuys station. CHP West Valley spokesman Officer Leland Tang said Odom would not take either a blood or breath test.
“Because he refused both tests, we took his license and gave him a form stating that his license was automatically suspended for the next year. That goes into immediate effect,” Tang said.
“That’s also the law across the board in California. Whenever someone gets a driver’s license in this state, they also agree to take a chemical test if they are ever stopped for suspicion of driving under the influence. And you forfeit your license for a year if you don’t take the test.”
Since Odom refused the test, “we don’t know what might have impaired his ability to drive,” Tang added.
via Lamar Odom pleads not guilty in Studio City DUI.
Odom, 33, averaged 4.0 points and 5.9 rebounds in 82 games for the Clippers last season.
