Smith found guilty on DUI charges

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Former NFL star Bruce Smith was found guilty of DUI, refusal to take a breathalyzer test and speeding in Virginia Beach Circuit Court Thursday. A judge ordered his license be suspended for 12 months.

The judge gave Smith a 90 day suspended jail sentence. Smith is appealing this case.

Following Smith's conviction, plans to honor him locally for his induction into the Football Hall of Fame have been called off, according to Virginia Beach Councilman Ron Villanueva.

Councilman Villanueva said Smith, because of his position as a public figure, is held to higher standards. Therefore, it would not be appropriate to continue with the planned ceremony.

"Bruce Smith certainly should be honored for what he's done on the football field," said Councilman Jim Wood, who co-planned the event with Villanueva, "but I think it's inappropriate for the city to honor him in light of the fact that, quite frankly, the city is prosecuting him."

In response to Thursday's conviction, Larry Cardon, Smith's attorney, told WAVY.com Bruce doesn't ever want this to happen again.

Our Mary Kay Mallonee was in the courtroom for Thursday's trial and said Bruce Smith argued he struggled with the field sobriety test due to various injuries and surgeries from his football playing days.

After reviewing cruiser dashcam video, the judge acknowledged Smith was very cooperative with the officer but said he could not follow the officer's field sobriety test instructions.

Officer Womble testified that Smith was doing 73 mph in a 55 mph zone and was driving on the shoulder of the road on I-264 East in Virginia Beach. He said when he pulled Smith over he smelled a strong odor of alcohol and noticed Smith's eyes were bloodshot, watery and glassy.

Smith was also heard on dashboard videotape explaining to the officer that he had shared one and a half bottles of wine with three other people at two Norfolk, Va. restaurants. Smith was also heard telling Officer Womble that he'd been smoking cigars.

Smith's attorney explained in court that Smith's cigar smoking caused his eyes to be watery and bloodshot.

Smith was charged with DUI back in May, after he was stopped for speeding on Interstate 264. During the stop, Smith refused to take a DUI test and was hit with another charge of Refusing to Take a DUI Test.

The case took an interesting turn when Officer Womble was also charged with DUI. Womble crashed his car at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront in June and reportedly failed three of four field sobriety tests.

"I'm sure he's extremely embarrassed by that," said Virginia Beach Commonwealth's Attorney Harvey Bryant, "and we're all surprised by it."

Bryant said the pending charge does not affect Womble's credibility as a witness in any cases, including driving under the influence. According to Bryant, DUI is not a charge that relates to moral judgment under the law, like lying, cheating, or stealing.

"DUI is a crime but it is not a crime that the law considers affecting your veracity or your truthfulness," explained Bryant.

Officer Womble testified against Bruce Smith. Smith's lawyer Larry Cardon said he could not bring up the officer's charges because it had no bearing on this case.

Smith has been charged three times in the past 12 years with DUI. The two previous cases were dismissed.

Smith is an 11 time NFL Pro-Bowler who played for the Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins. He is the NFL's all time sacks leader.

He graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in Norfolk.