<i>Officer testifies Rockets star was driving drunk By CAROL CHRISTIAN Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle Houston Rockets guard Steve Francis opted this morning for a trial by judge, rather than jury, on a charge of drunken driving. Seated next to high-powered defense attorneys Rusty Hardin and Chip Lewis, Francis appeared in County Court at Law No. 4, a misdemeanor court. Officer Charles Allen of the Houston Police Department's DWI Task Force testified Francis was intoxicated when arrested about 4:45 a.m. Dec. 16 after he ran a red light on Westheimer at Fountainview. As he approached Francis in his white Mercedes-Benz, Allen testified he smelled alcohol. No liquor was in the car, he said. He said Francis, 25, told him he had had four drinks and also had taken the pain killer vicodin. The basketball star was sidelined occasionally last season by migraine headaches and last month had surgery on his right shoulder. Francis was asked to perform sobriety tests both at the scene and at the police station at 61 Riesner, but failed all of them, the officer testified. In a video of tests at the station, Francis did not appear greatly impaired, but the officer said that his test performance, in combination with other factors, led him to conclude Francis was intoxicated. For example, when Francis was asked to recite the alphabet from "G" to "X," the basketball star did not stop at X but finished the alphabet, Allen testified. The officer also said he had to repeat instructions. Francis chose not to take a breath test, the officer said. Using his own cellular telephone, Francis called an attorney in Washington, Allen testified. "He yelled at her, `I'm not intoxicated. I've only been taking my vicodin,' " Allen said, under direct examination by prosecutor Chay Taylor. Testimony continued this afternoon with cross examination by the defense. </i>
Note: They showed some footage from the video tape police have of the night Francis was arrested and Stevie did not look good. He was wobbling and looked a tad tipsy.
I don't know about the tests that were taken but reciting the alphabet and going through x is understandable. I would probably do the same thing.
How does Vicodin Affect you? Esp mixed with Alcohol [even a bit of alcohol that is not enough to get ya drunk] The ABCs thing is . . a habit thing. That and not listening Rocket River I think Steve's lawyer can get him off .. . . do a public service announcement or some bull****
I don't care who it is .. Steve Francis or some bum off the street. Throw the whole library at him ... not just the book. Drunk Drivers piss me off!
i really hope steve is found to be not guilty. i wouldn't want anything to possibly tarnish his trade value.
Vicodin Side Effects: From http://www.accessmednet.com/prescription-drug-information/vicodin-hydrocodone.html#side-effects Could he have been impaired by the Vicodin? Or perhaps an otherwise legally acceptable amount of alcohol mixed with Vicodin? Could he have been suffering from a bout of vertigo from Meniere's Disease that made him perform as well as a drunk? Whatever the case, he probably shouldn't have been driving.
Off-top: Since I am a car nut, especially Mercedes, Does anyone know what Mercedes does he drive? Exactly which model and engine? Just curious. -G'day-
Misdemeanor DWI, first offense...Probation and a suspended license The Steve haters should be all over this one. If he gets a stiff penalty, then he's a drunk driving SOB. If he gets a light penalty, then he's a spoiled NBA superstar drunk SOB that only got off lightly because he can afford a high priced attorney Either way, I think he can afford the increased insurance premiums with the fat contract he's about to sign...
When asked about how Steve would feel if he had hit a child walking across the street, he commented that he didn't know how that would affect his driving.
This is everybody’s business ... drunk driving is a major problem that too often destroys the life of victims and their families … It sure doesn’t improve the situation that this is a guy that people kids to look up too... if you hate/dislike Stevie, so what? ... Drunk drivers are scum ...
He not ready for Jim Rome's Celebrity Drunk Bus. . . . dial 1 800 AAAAAAAAARRRRGGGHHHHHHHHHHH Rocket River
When told to recite the names of all his teammates, he said, "Molbey . . . the Wiz . . . and ummm Cuthino ummm and Mo o o schie... yeah...Moochie! I loves Moooshcie, hesh got funny hair. And Molbley...and umm TMo...yeah...my homeboy from D.Cthe. uhhhhmmm, who else, ummm, I remember, wait?" who else, officer Allen said, "ummm, Walt, ... and ... my main boy Cuthino. You know...all my boyz. Oh, and Two Sthanwiches. Hehe. He told Rrudy to fphuck-off onceth...hehe." OK, son, that's fine.
Come on. Who in here can honestly say that they haven't ever gotten in the car after having one too many drinks? The idea is that if you are driving after drinking, you have to pay more attention and be very careful. Steve should've known better than to run a red light if he had a bunch of booze and vicatin in his system. Hell, I just drove home from Sam's Boat last Thursday after like 6 pints. But I didn't run any lights, and I kept my speed down, and focused on everything around me. He shouldn't have any problem getting off, and will probably just get some probation.
In a related story, Francis was injured because he inadvertently stepped between Rusty Hardin and a camera . . . (Lawyer joke everyone. Please relax, Francis was not actually injured).
I saw Steve on MTV Cribs awhile back, and I think it was a CLK 320 or 430 (It was only shown from the side briefly) it matches the description in the article. It didn't look like a AMG 55, but then it was a while ago, so I could be wrong.
