KCP pleads guilty to Operating While Visibly Impaired

On Thursday, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope plead guilty to Operating While Visibly Impaired, after being originally charged with Operating While Intoxicated, all stemming from a March drunk driving arrest.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s plea to the lesser charge of Operating While Visibly Impaired will save him some license ramifications – specifically, he will avoid the automatic, upfront suspension of his license that comes with an Operating While Intoxicated conviction.  Still, Operating While Visibly Impaired counts as a drunk driving offense for future offenses and comes with a 90 day restricted license sanction.

According to the Free Press, Caldwell-Pope is scheduled for sentencing on June 14.  Between now and sentencing, he will undergo a substance abuse evaluation that will assist Judge Julie Nicholson in fashioning his sentence.

The good news for Caldwell-Pope is that his blood-alcohol level was relatively low – he reportedly blew a .08 at the Auburn Hills police station at the time of his arrest.  That relatively low blood-alcohol level combined with his willingness to take responsibility should bode well for his sentencing.

As a first-time offender right at the legal limit, Caldwell-Pope is unlikely to face any sort of upfront jail time at his initial sentencing.  If his substance abuse evaluation comes back favorably, he could be facing as little as an informal probation period where he may just need to pay fines and costs, stay out of trouble, and perhaps participate in a substance abuse program to address any issues he may have.

While the legal consequences for Caldwell-Pope’s plea may be minimal, he is still likely to face some sort of punishment from the NBA.  First-time drunk driving offenses have previously resulted in two or three game suspensions from the league.

The timing of Caldwell-Pope’s arrest and plea come at a less than ideal time for him.  He is entering free agency with the prospects of receiving a max deal.  The Pistons and any prospective team looking to sign him will undoubtedly do their homework on Caldwell-Pope’s arrest and potential substance abuse issues.

From there, it will be on Caldwell-Pope and his future team to address any issues that may exist and ensure that they don’t happen again, so he doesn’t face any further punishments from the league or the criminal justice system.

**Mathew Way is an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Michigan who is well versed in cases related to drunk driving.