Former ‘SNL’ regular Tracy Morgan pleads guilty to DWI
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Tracy Morgan, a former Saturday Night Live regular who is featured on the show 30 Rock, pleaded guilty Wednesday to a misdemeanor drunken driving charge. The 38-year-old comic pleaded guilty in Manhattan Criminal Court to driving while intoxicated in exchange for a conditional discharge. That means Morgan must meet conditions set by the court and the case against him will be dismissed. Judge Ellen Coin ordered Morgan to enter a doctor-supervised alcohol program, do a period of community service to be determined later, and avoid being arrested again within the next six months. The judge also fined Morgan $1,000 and suspended his driver’s license for six months. She scheduled the comedian’s sentencing for Aug. 16. Morgan’s lawyer, Gerald Lefcourt, said he expected the community service to include his client’s lecturing to school groups about the evils of drunk driving. Outside court, Morgan, who came to court in a taxi with wife Sabina, apologized for his behavior. “Drinking and driving is not cool,” he said, and he promised he would never be in that situation again. The comedian left in a van that his lawyer, Gerald Lefcourt, said was driven by an employee of Morgan’s show. Morgan was stopped Nov. 28, 2006, around 4:30 a.m. while driving a Cadillac Escalade on the Henry Hudson Parkway near West 158th Street. Police said he smelled of alcohol and later failed a breathalyzer test. On Dec. 2, 2005, Morgan was arrested in Hollywood on impaired driving charges after police stopped him for speeding. Authorities there said his blood-alcohol level was 0.13%, over the legal limit of 0.08%. He leaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge and was sentenced to 36 months’ probation, fined $390 and ordered to attend an alcohol education program. Morgan was a Saturday Night Live cast member from 1996 to 2003. He left the show to star in the now-canceled The Tracy Morgan Show, and is currently in 30 Rock. |