Could face 1 to 4 years in jail
Rams rookie Little charged with involuntary manslaughter
Posted: Wednesday October 28, 1998 02:50 PM
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Little had been celebrating his 24th birthday the night of the crash AP |
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Rookie linebacker Leonard Little was charged
with involuntary manslaughter Wednesday in connection with a fatal car
crash October 19. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Dee Joyce-Hayes
said Little faces one to four years in jail under sentencing guidelines on
the charge. Little had agreed to surrender this morning. Bond
was set at $25,000 by Circuit Judge Steve Ohmer. Joyce-Hayes said she
expected Little to post bond and be released. "In my 18 years
here I've never known a defendant to be jailed pending trial on an
involuntary manslaughter charge," the circuit attorney said.
Little left town shortly after the accident but had agreed to return.
The rookie linebacker is accused of getting drunk at a party before
his sport utility vehicle broadsided a car driven by Susan Gutweiler, 47,
of Oakville, at a downtown intersection. Gutweiler died the next day.
Late last week, police released a blood test that showed Little had
a blood-alcohol level of .19, nearly twice the legal limit of .10, at the
time of the accident. Little had been celebrating his 24th birthday with
teammates at a Rams charity function at a downtown hotel earlier that
evening. Joyce-Hayes said Little received no special treatment
in the case. She said the charges were filed in Little's case as fast or
faster than usual in cases involving drunk driving. She said
that under Missouri law, an involuntary manslaughter charge is not
automatic in drunk driving charges involving a fatality. She said her
office will have to prove that Little's intoxication impaired his driving
in some way that caused the crash. "We will have to prove that
he was speeding, ran a red light or something like that," she said.
Whether Little would return to the Rams training camp today was not
immediately determined. Coach Dick Vermeil has said he would have
no problems playing Little if he were charged.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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