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Fairley Found Guilty Of Reckless Driving, Not Guilty Of DUI

By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak

CBS DETROIT - Detroit Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley, who is scheduled to become a free agent in March, has been found not guilty of DUI in Mobile, Alabama, according to WKRG.

If convicted Friday of both charges he faced - DUI and reckless driving that prompted a 2012 arrest - Fairley would have faced about a year in jail and almost $3,000 in fines, per AL.com's Michael Dumas.

Fairley was arrested around 1 a.m. on May 27, 2012, when an Alabama state trooper said Fairley drove by at a speed of more than 100 mph, was found to have an open container in his vehicle, and failed three field sobriety tests. The trooper also said Fairley admitted the drink in the vehicle was his and acknowledged he had been drinking and driving, according to AL.com.

Fairley's fiancee, who was with him at the time of the arrest, disputed the account of the state trooper. She testified that the alcoholic drink in the vehicle belonged to her, that Fairley had only had one drink that day, and that he had the drink hours earlier.

Before the 2014 season, the Lions declined to pick up Fairley's fifth-year option, so any team can sign him beginning March 10. Since Detroit has made it a goal to bring back perennial All-Pro defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, it is widely expected Fairley will end up somewhere other than Detroit in 2015.

 

 

 

 

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