Jets OL Jones Arrested for DWI near Team HQ

This is Priceless see my commentary at the end!

From the AP sportswire.....
Police charge Jets offensive lineman Jones with DWI
By FRANK ELTMAN, Associated Press Writer
November 28, 2006

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (AP) -- New York Jets offensive lineman Adrian Jones apologized to the team and his family Tuesday, three days after being charged with driving while intoxicated.

Jones, 25, was fined $20,000 by the team and will be monitored by the NFL as a result of being a first-time offender of the league's substance abuse policy.

Jones was arrested at about 4:45 a.m. Saturday after he was stopped by police on on Merrick Avenue near Hempstead Turnpike -- about a mile from the team's training facility -- for allegedly driving slowly and making an unsafe lane change, said Eric Phillips, a spokesman for Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice.

He was charged with driving while intoxicated and had his license suspended after refusing to take a blood-alcohol test at central testing, Phillips said. A preliminary field sobriety test when Jones was arrested revealed a blood-alcohol reading of 0.22, police said. After being released by a judge on Saturday morning, Jones was ordered to return to court on Dec. 15.

In a police complaint, Jones told officers he had been in an accident about 20 minutes earlier; the front end of his Chrysler 300 was damaged and smoke was emanating from under the hood. Nassau County police didn't immediately have information about the traffic accident, although a spokesman noted that if both parties agreed to settle the issue privately, police might not have been called.

Jones, in his third season with the Jets, was on the inactive list and didn't play in Sunday's 26-11 victory over the Houston Texans. Coach Eric Mangini said Monday it was a "just a coaching decision."

"I apologized to my family, my teammates and my coaches for my behavior," Jones said in a statement issued Tuesday. "I used poor judgment and will be held accountable for it."

An attorney for Jones did not immediately return a telephone call Tuesday seeking further comment.

The Jets said in a statement the team was "extremely disappointed Adrian would put himself in this situation, and we take these allegations very seriously. ... Adrian has apologized to his teammates, the organization and the fans, accepting full responsibility for his actions and the consequences that follow."

Jones, a 6-5, 296-pound lineman from the University of Kansas, was drafted by the Jets in 2004. He has played both left and right tackle positions.

On Thanksgiving weekend 1999, Jones suffered a serious head injury when his car blew a tire and rolled. He spent three days in the intensive care unit at Wichita's Wesley Medical Center. Alcohol was not a factor in that accident, officials said.

Jones was returning to Lawrence, Kan., from his home in Dallas with his brother Christopher and Jayhawks teammate Derick Miller. Jones, who had just removed his seat belt to take off his sweater at the time of the accident, was thrown from the car and landed headfirst.

Jones' brother and teammate had only minor injuries.


Now you know i have something to say about this right?? It just so happens that that intersection is one of the busiest on all of long Island. Besides being close to the Jets HQ and Hofstra university, the Nassau Colusiem, the County Community college, County Medical Center, County Jail, and 2 major shopping centers are all in the vicinity, as well as a Police station and a Firehouse. Smart move to be driving erratically there at close to 5 am on any day. I know the area well....it's all of 7 mins from where i live, and i'm there at least 2 times a week because that's where my mother in law lives. So now we know why Mangini Benched Jones Sunday!