Kurt Angle's DUI Charge Changed To Reckless Driving

Kurt Angle's DUI charge was reduced to reckless driving yesterday by The Warren County Commonwealth's Attorney Office in Virginia, according to a report on NVDaily.com. While the charge was reduced, reckless driving carries a maximum of one year in jail and a $2,500 fine, which is the same first-time offense penalty as a DUI.

"Based upon our review, the commonwealth feels that a reckless driving charge is strongly supported by the evidence and we have elected to prosecute that charge in lieu of the charge of driving while intoxicated," Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Michael Fleming stated in a press release.

Angle was not present for yesterday's hearing.

Angle was arrested last month for a DUI in Front Royal, VA. Police had received a third-party call stating that Angle's vehicle was swerving "all over the road." State trooper C.R. Scally stated that he observed Angle's vehicle "weaving and driving down the center line" while following it for about a half mile before pulling him over.

"I made contact with the driver and detected the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage," Scally wrote in the police report. "I asked Mr. Angle, whom I identified by his Pa. drivers license, how much he had to drink and he replied he had three beers."

Scally went on to write that Angle's eyes were "bloodshot and glassy." Angle was asked to recite the alphabet from the letter "D" to the letter "P," and he "mixed several of the letters, repeated the letter 'P' and continued to 'W.'"

Angle was then asked to count backwards from 53 to 48.

"Mr. Angle started with 50, then went back to 52 and ended at 38 missing and mixing up several numbers," Scally wrote.

Angle was arrested at 2:06 a.m. after failing the initial breathalyzer test, which was a 0.091 percent, above the state's legal limit of 0.08. A second test, conducted at the Front Royal police headquarters that morning, yielded a 0.06, which was the result that Angle released to the media. He was released on a $2,000 secured bond and was charged with driving while intoxicated as a first-time offender, a class 1 misdemeanor.

Source: NVDaily.com