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Police: Ben Wallace Driving Drunk, Carrying Pistol In Car

DETROIT - Detroit Pistons star Ben Wallace, 37, was released to a family member after arraignment on charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and carrying a concealed weapon.

The charges stem from an arrest at 3 a.m. Sept. 24 in Bloomfield Township, where police said he was stopped in a 2007 Cadillac Escalade on northbound

Ben Wallace booking photo (credit: Bloomfield Twp. Police)

Telegraph and Long Lake for erratic driving. "A roadside investigation revealed that Wallace was operating his motor vehicle while intoxicated," police said in a press release.

Wallace was arrested without incident and a search of his vehicle revealed an unloaded pistol in a backpack on the passenger seat, police said. The weapons charge is a five-year felony; OWI is a 93-day misdemeanor.

Could Wallace serve time? We asked WWJ Newsradio 950 Legal Analyist Charlie Langton.

"Generally speaking, first time offender drunk drivers don't go to jail," said Langton. "However, Ben Wallace is in this Bloomfield Township court where there is a reputation there amongst the judges that first time offenders do go to jail."

Wallace was a member of the Pistons last season, and was a key member of the 2004 NBA champion Pistons team.

He's due back in court on October 3.

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