Track Star’s Lawyer Predicts No Jail Time for DUI Arrest

The attorney for nine-time Olympic gold-medalist Carl Lewis, who was charged with drunk driving after he smashed his new Maserati, predicted Monday that his client will be spared jail time.

Lewis was arrested by the California Highway Patrol in April. About a week later, he was charged with driving under the influence, a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail.

The track star was scheduled to be arraigned Monday, but the court proceeding was postponed to allow time for plea negotiations, said Frank Mateljan of the city attorney’s office.

“There will be no plead to the charge, that’s for sure,” said Mark Rafferty, Lewis’ attorney. “Will he get jail time? No. It’s not even a negotiating issue.”

Rafferty said Lewis could be required to complete a 34-hour alcohol education program and have his driver’s license restricted for about three months, meaning he’d basically be allowed to drive to and from work.

On April 21, Lewis was driving his 2004 Italian roadster southbound on the Harbor Freeway, near the Gardena Freeway, when he was in an accident. No one was injured, but when the CHP responded, the Olympic legend was arrested because he failed a series of field sobriety tests, said Mateljan.

According to prosecutors, Lewis’ blood-alcohol level was 0.0808%. The state’s legal limit is 0.08%. Rafferty called the figure borderline and said, “I don’t believe [Lewis] will be convicted of the offense.”