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Sambora's Plea Bargain
Richie Sambora struck a deal with prosecutors just hours after they filed drunken driving charges against him, pleading no contest to one misdemeanor count of driving with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit."As part of the plea agreement, the
district attorney agreed to drop a second charge, driving under the influence of alcohol," said Farrah Emami, a district attorney spokeswoman. Sambora was sentenced to three years of informal probation, three months of first-offender alcohol awareness class and court fees. He also cannot have any measurable amount of drugs or alcohol in his system while driving during his probation.Sambora was pulled over in Laguna Beach on March 25 after he was allegedly seen swerving and straddling two lanes. District attorney's spokeswoman Farrah Emami said Sambora's blood-alcohol level was .13 percent; the legal limit is .08 percent in California.Sambora did not attend the hearing at the Orange County Superior Court, where his attorney, Blair Berk, entered the plea on his behalf. Berk confirmed the plea deal but declined to comment further. Two children and a woman were in the car. Police had asked the district attorney to file misdemeanor charges of child endangerment against Sambora as well, but Emami said prosecutors didn't have enough to make the case."The charge of DUI in itself indicates you have endangered yourself and others," she said. 'There would have needed to be additional aggravating circumstances to charge that."
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