Bucs running back could face jail time, suspension for pleading guilty to endangering family.
By GREG AUMAN
Published March 26, 2004
Bucs running back Michael Pittman pleaded guilty to a felony count of endangerment in a Mesa, Ariz., court Thursday, accepting a plea agreement that could result in jail time as well as a multigame suspension from the NFL.
Pittman, 28, would have gone to trial Monday on two felony charges of aggravated assault and one felony count of aggravated domestic violence, stemming from an arrest in May. The seventh-year pro was accused of using his Hummer to ram a Mercedes-Benz that had his wife Melissa, their 2-year-old son and an 18-year-old babysitter inside.
The endangerment charge is a Class 6 felony, the lowest class by Arizona law. Pittman is scheduled for sentencing on April 23, one day before the NFL draft. The original charges against him, which have been dropped, could have resulted in prison sentences of five to 15 years.
His penalty for Thursday's guilty plea can range from three years of supervised probation to up to two years in prison and a $150,000 fine.
The plea could be deemed a violation of a probation from a 2001 arrest, also on a charge of domestic violence against his wife. Such a violation could result in a jail sentence of up to 10 months, and Judge David Talamante warned Pittman before accepting the agreement that his felony conviction "could be considered an automatic violation" of probation. A probation revocation hearing has been delayed several times pending the outcome of the most recent charges.
In addition to court-imposed penalties, Pittman faces sanctioning from the NFL for his second violation of its personal conduct policy. His guilty plea to the two misdemeanor charges in 2001 resulted in a one-game suspension, and the penalty for this violation is left to the discretion of NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue.
A representative from NFL securities was present at Pittman's hearing Tuesday, and the running back flew to New York last week to meet with the NFL's staff attorney to discuss his case.
Pittman, the Bucs' leading rusher last season, is due a base salary of $1.5-million in 2004, so for each game he is suspended he would lose earnings of $93,750. A long suspension could impact his future with the team, which signed veteran running back Charlie Garner as a free agent this month.
General manager Bruce Allen and coach Jon Gruden were not available for comment Thursday night. Bucs spokesman Jeff Kamis said, "Until we review the final court document, any comment at this time would be premature."
Pittman wore a slate blue pinstriped suit to the hearing, and he and his attorney, Joel Thompson, declined to comment as they left the courtroom. Melissa Pittman's attorney reiterated her objections to her husband's prosecution.
"She didn't support the prosecution," Jason Lamm told the Arizona Republic. "She has a bad taste in her mouth about the entire process."
Lamm said Melissa Pittman, who was not present, will speak in her husband's defense at his sentencing. They have sold their Arizona home and live together in Tampa. Lamm said his client believes describing the incident as Pittman ramming her Mercedes with his Hummer is an exaggeration.
"Ramming doesn't occur at 2 or 3 mph," he told the Republic. "The state amplified the situation. The whole thing is gross hyperbole and sensationalism from a 2 mph ramming."
No one was hurt in the collision in the Pittmans' gated neighborhood, but the force of the crash pushed the Mercedes over a median and tore a tire from its rim.
- Information from Times wires was used in this report.
