Rodney King charged with DUI for July arrest

By: Crimesider Staff
Topics: Daily Blotter

Rodney King

/ CBS/KCBS

(CBS/KCBS/AP) RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Rodney King, whose videotaped beating by police led to the 1992 Los Angeles riots, has been charged with driving under the influence stemming from an arrest in Southern California last month.

According to CBS station KCBS, King was charged with two misdemeanor counts Wednesday. He was allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol and marijuana. His blood-alcohol level was also allegedly higher than the legal limit when he was pulled over in Riverside County's Moreno Valley.

If convicted, King faces up to a year in jail because of a prior DUI conviction in San Bernardino County.

King, 46, has struggled with sobriety publicly and appeared on "Dr. Drew's Celebrity Rehab" in 2008 and "Sober House" in 2009.

According to TMZ, King has a prior DUI from 2003 when he reportedly sped through an intersection at more than 100 MPH before crashing into a power pole and house.

King's beating during a 1991 arrest, caught on videotape, made him a household name. A year later, the white officers in the beating were acquitted of federal charges which sparked days of rioting that killed 55 people and caused widespread damage.

King is scheduled to be arraigned Friday.

More on Crimesider
July 13, 2011 - Rodney King arrested on suspicion of DUI

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by LibbyB1963 August 25, 2011 1:49 PM EDT: I sure hope he doesn't have an accidental fall. lol. Jesse Jackson and friends will show up. There will be a hearing how he was racially profiled and a riot either way. Then, he will end up with another large some of money and pat on the back.; Reply to this comment


by DenverBroncofan August 25, 2011 12:49 PM EDT: I wonder if he will have an accidental fall while in jail?; Reply to this comment


by watash60c August 25, 2011 11:15 AM EDT: great Liberal role model; Reply to this comment


by credibility2 August 25, 2011 10:49 AM EDT: Once a criminal, always a criminal. This is what happens when the system prefers the criminal's feelings and accommodates his behavior to give him another chance.; Reply to this comment


by LibbyB1963 August 25, 2011 10:14 AM EDT: The 2003 should have landed him in jail! That is so wrong. Doesnt' surprise me though. Probably walk away on this one too.; Reply to this comment