Minnesota Vikings News carlosfusa on 23 Jan 2007 01:43 am
Former Viking Pleads Guilty to Fleeing Police
After pleading guilty to a felony fleeing charge Monday, former Minnesota Viking Koren Robinson said he didn’t know he was being chased by “cops” in August until the 12-mile high-speed pursuit ended on Stoltzman Road in Mankato.
Seven lesser charges related to driving intoxicated, recklessly and without a license were dismissed in a plea agreement with prosecutors. Robinson also agreed to not fight the forfeiture of the BMW 760 sedan he used to leave squad cars in his wake that night as he flew south on Highway 169 from St. Peter to Mankato.
“I was coming back from Minneapolis, trying to get to training camp,” Robinson said. “It was a bad decision on my part. I was trying to get back to camp grounds to avoid the fine I was going to get for being late.”
Robinson’s plea was eventually changed to what is known as an Alford plea after the lawyers in the case, as well as District Court Judge Todd Westphal, realized the facts of the crime Robinson was admitting to actually took place in Blue Earth County. An Alford plea allows someone to acknowledge evidence in a case could result in a jury reaching a guilty verdict but doesn’t require that person to admit guilt.
To be technically guilty of fleeing, Robinson would have had to have known he was being chased through Nicollet County. So his attorney, Joe Tamburino, and Assistant County Attorney Paul Tanis asked Robinson if police testimony and video from one of the pursuing squad cars could convince a jury he was guilty.
He said yes.
Prior to accepting the plea, Westphal asked Robinson if he realized the maximum penalty for fleeing is three years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Robinson said he did, but Tamburino later said he would be arguing for a gross misdemeanor level sentence during sentencing. Tanis agreed to “remain silent” when Robinson is sentenced.
Tamburino also asked Westphal to set a sentencing hearing before Feb. 28, which is when Robinson is scheduled to start serving a 90-day jail sentence in Green Bay, Wis. After being released by the Vikings, Robinson signed a two-year contract with the Green Bay Packers and played briefly before being suspended by the National Football League under its substance-abuse policy.
The Wisconsin jail term was ordered by a judge in Washington, where Robinson played for the Seattle Seahawks before signing with the Vikings. Robinson had violated his parole for an earlier driving while intoxicated conviction in Washington by being involved in the Minnesota pursuit.
When Robinson was stopped in Mankato, an initial breath test given to him at the scene showed he had a blood-alcohol concentration of .11, court records said. A second test given to Robinson about an hour later in St. Peter showed he had a BAC of .09.
