Michigan wide receiver Darryl Stonum pleads not guilty to operating while intoxicated second-offense
Michigan wide receiver Darryl Stonum pleaded not guilty Friday morning to charges of operating while intoxicated second-offense and driving with a suspended license during his arraignment in 15th District Court.
Judge Julie Creal set a $500 personal recognizance bond in the case and ordered Stonum to submit to a breath test each day by 8:30 a.m. at the University of Michigan Department of Public Safety.
Darryl Stonum
Stonum, 21, who has been suspended from the team, was arrested at 2:25 a.m. May 6 by University of Michigan police after a traffic stop on State Street, records show.
The misdemeanor charges were filed Tuesday by the Washtenaw County Prosecutor's Office. Stonum, who is from Stafford, Texas, and is entering his senior year with the Michigan football program, faces up to a year in jail if convicted.
Stonum's attorney, who refused to provide his name and said he doesn't cooperate with the media, said in court that Stonum is "working really hard" in a punishment schedule set up by the coaches.
Stonum said in court that he has to wake up at 4 a.m. and train for two hours, including doing 1,500 yards in sled pulls and pulling a 45-pound plate. He said his strength and conditioning coach has a breathalyzer at his office, but Stonum has not been required to use it.
Creal also ordered Stonum to not use or possess alcohol or drugs.
It's not the first time Stonum has been in legal trouble. In September 2008, during his freshman year, police charged him with operating a vehicle while visibly impaired, and he was subsequently jailed for three nights in July 2010 for multiple probation violations.
In a statement last week announcing the suspension, coach Brady Hoke left the door open for Stonum's return to the team, saying he must first "fulfill all his commitments he has to the legal system and our program."
Stonum is scheduled to return to court for a pretrial hearing on May 20.
Lee Higgins covers crime and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at (734) 623-2527 and email at leehiggins@annarbor.com.
Comments
trespass
Sat, May 14, 2011 : 6:57 p.m.
One of the NCAA violations last year included the following; "Also, the school required players to participate in summer conditioning for disciplinary purposes"(charge #2). Stonum said in court Friday he has been waking up at 4 a.m. and doing 1,500 yards in sled pulls and also pulling a 45-pound plate. Hoke said he doesn't have a timetable for when Stonum will stop the 4 a.m. workouts. Stonum is "working really hard" in a punishment schedule set up by the coaches. Doesn't this sound like the UM is violating the same NCAA rule? If the NCAA finds UM to violate the same rule again it could be really severe penalties.
Matt Cooper
Tue, May 17, 2011 : 1:47 a.m.
And of course you were there in the court room to witness this?
trespass
Sun, May 15, 2011 : 8:30 p.m.
Stonum's attorney, who refused to provide his name and said he doesn't cooperate with the media, said in court that Stonum is "working really hard" in a punishment schedule set up by the coaches.
Matt Cooper
Sun, May 15, 2011 : 4:42 p.m.
I've read the article over and over and cannot seem to find where it says this workout regimen was set up by anyone from the coaching staff. Can you show me where it says that? It does say "Stonum said in court that he has to wake up at 4 a.m. and train for two hours, including doing 1,500 yards in sled pulls and pulling a 45-pound plate" but makes no mention of the M coaching staff. Couldn't possibly be that he works out on his own, now could it?
swcornell
Sat, May 14, 2011 : 6:56 p.m.
There's a better way to stop him from drinking and driving: Take his car and license away from him!
Will Warner
Sat, May 14, 2011 : 12:54 p.m.
Glad to see that so many people have lived such blameless lives, giving them the ability to recognize "criminals" and to know without any doubt what should happen to same.
Hmm
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 6:51 p.m.
"Stonum's attorney, who refused to provide his name and said he doesn't cooperate with the media..." Nice
trespass
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 6:23 p.m.
What does it mean to be suspended from the team if you are still working out under coach's supervision? Also, how can it be good for his studies to be up at 4 AM working out? Is he a student and what does that mean to the coach's?
Matt Cooper
Sat, May 14, 2011 : 2:20 p.m.
So, information studied for class can only be digested and remembered and understood during certain hours? I oftentimes studie in the middle of the night myself and easily maintain a 3.6 GPA.
Roy Munson
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 4:56 p.m.
How many more strikes does he need to get? Hoke, send him packing. Don't be the next Dantonio and install the "prison cell to field transition program."
Sallyxyz
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 5:02 p.m.
I totally agree.
Ellen
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 4:49 p.m.
I'm assuming that he lives somewhere on campus. I could be wrong on that, but if he *does* live near state street, why drive at all? Cant ya just walk to the bar and walk home? And especially after getting one DUI, he should've learned something. I'm also not understanding the breath test at 8:30 a.m. If he'd drank the night before, wouldn't the alcohol be gone by 8:30 a.m.? (Forgive me, I don't know how those breath tests work, I'm assuming they are like teh ones in cop cars ... if you wait long enough, the alcohol has left the system) He is way too young to have two drinking/driving offenses. I hope he turns his life around. He's been given a wonderful opportunity to play football and go to school here, one that should not be wasted. Pun not intended.
Matt Cooper
Sat, May 14, 2011 : 2:19 p.m.
Alcohol takes time to metabolize out of your system. So yes, alcohol consumed the night before would still show up depending on how much was consumed. Secondly, no, the ones the police test with are not the same as the ones the cops carry. They are far more accurate and are physically much larger machines. The PBT the cops carry is a field test only, and you cannot be charged with the results of that test. That's why they take you downtown and do it again on the bigger machine.
Rob Pollard
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 3:25 p.m.
I'm sorry, but running steps and getting up early is appropriate punishment for letting your grades slip or for not showing up for practice. For your SECOND "operating while intoxicated" AND driving with a suspended license (assuming he is found guilty), he should be off the team. This is not a "mistake" - forgetting your blocking assignment on a corner blitz is a mistake; this is a crime, potentially deadly to himself and others, which he has now committed for the second time, along with not following all the terms of his probation for the first offense. He should be off the team. Playing for U of M is a privilege, not a right, and multiple time criminals should not be on team. Michigan can continue his scholarship, so he can get a degree and hopefully make something of himself, but football at U of M should not be in his future.
Matt Cooper
Sat, May 14, 2011 : 2:15 p.m.
Rob, in case you hadn't actually read the article, Stonum has been suspended from the team pending sucessful completion of his legal obligations. Beyond that, removing him from the team permanently amounts to nothing more than punitive punishment. Once he's met his legal obligations, why punish him even more? What's the point in that? Secondly, I'm with Robert. Let him stay at M but pay his own way so that some kid that respects himself and his university and is responsible enough to earn a scholarship can have a bit of an easier time with his studies.
Rob Pollard
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 7 p.m.
This is a reply to Robert G: I'd be fine either way, as long as he doesn't play football (assuming he is guilty). I think there is something to be said for continuing his scholarship for a year (I'm assuming he's close to graduating) and seeing him graduate as way of supporting him as a student and a person. Does the Michigan team suffer the consequences of being one player short, in terms of schollies? Sure, but that's part of the consequences of his actions - he hurt himself and the team.
Sallyxyz
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 4:53 p.m.
Exactly. Well said. I totally agree.
Robert Granville
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 4:41 p.m.
So we should continue giving him a scholarship but kick him off the team? I hope you realize that that would rob a student athlete of a scholarship who has not been caught drunk behind the wheel twice. Either you want him off the team and off scholarship or on the team and on scholarship. There is no middle ground here.
Ricebrnr
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 3:15 p.m.
I see the U needs to step up the ethics an integrity curriculum...then again I suppose they're not really qualified to teach it.
catfishrisin
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 2:29 p.m.
Pleads "Not Guilty"......time to man up and admit your mistake.
Matt Cooper
Sat, May 14, 2011 : 2:11 p.m.
Just remember, all you legal eagles, every criminal defendant is entitled to a vigorous defense. Like it or not, that's the way our CJ system works. Get over it.
Hmm
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 6:55 p.m.
Nobody with a lick of sense pleads "guilty" in court. Doesn't matter if they are caught on camera and have 10 eye witnesses to the crime, the defendant always pleads "not guilty", has nothing to do with manning up its just the way it is.
aawolve
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 6:18 p.m.
@ I see that you're not familiar with our justice system, but they really leave you no choice but to initially plead not guilty. This is how the game is played, always.
Greggy_D
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 5:42 p.m.
Agreed, Robert. This is the best way to play the justice system "circus". He'll probably plea down to OWI first offense, even though this is his second. The reason is, if he pleads guilty to OWI second offense the very next time (third offense) is a felony charge.
Ricebrnr
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 5:33 p.m.
So he couldn't have worked something out with his lawyer and the system by this first hearing? I'm not buying the arguments presented. Bot to mention he could've please nolo contendere
Robert Granville
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 4:38 p.m.
Pleading not guilty at the first court hearing is not the same as denying responsibility for your mistake. Unfortunately our court system is a game and if you don't play it right you will get the harshest possible sentence every time. If Stonum were to immediately plead guilty, the book would be thrown at him. It's not something that in most defendants best interest.
GeeWhiz
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 4:23 p.m.
Granted, Stonum made a mistake on May 6 but it would be even a worse mistake to plead guilty off the bat. A "not guilty" plea allows him to negotiate with the prosecutors for the best deal to get his life back on track!
Mick52
Fri, May 13, 2011 : 2:13 p.m.
Good to see the UMPD is not covering up for the athletic department. Darryl Stonum is a fantastic player and will improve if he can control his alcohol problem. Great to see that Coach Hoke is continuing the tradition of Coach Carr in re to early morning training reform. Good luck to him.