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LITTLE IS ORDERED NOT TO DRINK ALCOHOL FOR TWO YEARS
A St. Louis County judge made teetotaling by the Rams player a condition of Little's sentence of two years' probation for speeding. Little appeared upset after the hearing.

By: William C Lhotka, of the Post-Dispatch
(reprinted from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO), May 7, 2005)

St. Louis Rams defensive end Leonard Little avoided a jail sentence for speeding but was warned by a judge Friday that he will be jailed for six months if he drinks alcohol during his two years on probation.

St. Louis County Circuit Judge Emmett M. O'Brien rejected the prosecution's recommendation of 30 days in jail.

A jury of 11 women and one man convicted Little on April 1 of speeding -- driving his 2003 Mercedes at 78 mph on U.S. Highway 40 (Interstate 64) in Ladue -- but acquitted the defendant of the more serious felony charge of driving while intoxicated.

The drunken-driving case was a felony because Little had pleaded guilty in 1999 of manslaughter, admitting he was drunk in 1998 when he ran a red light downtown and his SUV collided with a car driven by Susan Gutweiler, 47, of Oakville. She was killed.

In sentencing Little, a Pro-Bowl lineman, O'Brien said Friday that he had been told "you do not intend to drink and drive, or consume any alcoholic beverages. If you fulfill your promise, you will have no problems."

O'Brien then made abstinence from alcohol for two years a condition of probation. Otherwise, he said, the sentence will be six months in jail.

A suggestion by prosecutor Mark Bishop that Little spend 30 days in jail sparked controversy in the 10-minute sentencing hearing in Clayton.

Bishop argued that the only way to send Little a message that the community disapproved of his conduct was time in jail.

The prosecutor said that defense attorney Scott Rosenblum had suggested a 30-day sentence during plea bargaining before trial.

Rosenblum told O'Brien he never had authority from Little to make such a deal. Afterward, Rosenblum said in an interview that the state's offer at the time was for three years in prison, which was totally unacceptable.

On his way out of the courthouse later, an upset Little said, "I was never going to plead guilty. They never had a case from the get-go. You can print that."

Authorities felt differently. The arresting Ladue police officer, Gregory Stork, claimed that Little failed three field sobriety tests after he was stopped on April 24 last year.

In court, Rosenblum attacked the methodology Stork used in conducting the tests.

Sgt. Darin McClure said he had administered a breath test alongside the highway. It indicated a blood-alcohol content nearly double the legal limit of 0.08 percent. Such tests, however, are not admissible under Missouri law because the portable equipment is not as reliable as breath analysis machines in police stations.

Little refused to take such a test at the police station about 20 minutes after his arrest. Bishop argued that Little's refusal was an indication he was under the influence.

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