Rodney King Charged With DUI, PCP Use

Associated Press ^ | May 15, 2003

[Timesink]

May 15, 2003

Rodney King Charged With DUI, PCP Use

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 3:27 a.m. ET

RIALTO, Calif. (AP) -- Rodney King, whose videotaped beating at the hands of Los Angeles police led to widespread riots more than a decade ago, was charged with three misdemeanor counts stemming from an April car crash, police said Wednesday.

King, 39, of Rialto, was under the influence of PCP when he drove through a Rialto intersection at more than 100 mph, lost control of his sport utility vehicle and slammed into a power pole, Sgt. Paul Wing said.

Wing said King was charged by San Bernardino County prosecutors with a single count each of driving under the influence, using PCP and reckless driving. Neither King nor officials at the county district attorney's office could be reached by The Press-Enterprise in Riverside for comment late Wednesday.

Wing said toxicology tests showed ``significant amounts'' of PCP in King's system after the April 13 crash.

Following the crash, King was treated at a hospital and released. King will remain free on his own recognizance until his arraignment, set for sometime in June in Fontana Superior Court.

King, who is black, was chased by police through the San Fernando Valley in 1991 and was captured on videotape being beaten by four white officers. After their acquittals in 1992, riots broke out and lasted four days, leaving 55 dead and more than 2,000 injured. The mayhem caused $1 billion in property damage.

King received a $3.8 million settlement from the city of Los Angeles in 1994.

King has had several convictions since. He was convicted of spouse abuse in 1999 in San Bernardino County and was sentenced to 90 days in jail and four years probation. In October 2001, King pleaded no contest to three counts of being under the influence of PCP and a count of indecent exposure. A judge gave him a year in a drug treatment center, even though a prosecutor argued King should spend a year in county jail.

[Jimmy Valentine]

"I wouldn't let my fortune get to my head"

I don't think that's the problem. It's the PCP he is snorting that is detuning his carburator.

Regards,

[jmq]

Spots won't change no matter how the media tries to wash them off. This convict has had about 5 serious arrests since his "baton party". Me thinks he has run through the cash and is trawling for more......

[Thebaddog]

Can't we all get a rock?

[cardinal4]

Can't we all just get a bong?

LOL! My laugh for the day!

[hobbes1]

paging Johnny Cochran....


"Why your Honor, It's Fallacious, It's Contumacious, And Completely Outrageous..."

[reagan_fanatic]

"Can't we all just snort a line.."

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

Y'all are simply rotten!! I'm dissapointed that nobody more understanding and sensitive about this situation .

It's obvious to anyone this incident [as well as the others], are the cry for help he was not given the opportunity to express while surviving the 'traumatic childhood' he lived as a minority male as well as the fact that generations ago, his relatives may have either known, associated with, or been slaves.

/sarcasm_off>

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

I'm dissapointed that nobody more understanding and sensitive about this situation .

D@mn-I forgot to insert "IS"in there.

...that nobody *IS* more understanding

[aristeides]

I guess this pretty much proves the cops were right about his being on PCP the other time too, doesn't it?

[HamiltonJay]

You can take the man out of the ghetto... but you can't take the ghetto out of the man...

[hattend]

King, 39, of Rialto, was under the influence of PCP when he drove through a Rialto intersection at more than 100 mph, lost control of his sport utility vehicle and slammed into a power pole, Sgt. Paul Wing said.

These are misdemenors?

[Teacher317]

If I came into obscene wealth, I'd always live humbly. I wouldn't let my fortune get to my head since I know my values.

Yeah, that sounds like something PCP Rodney would say or do.

[DMZFrank]

Don't forget that Sgt. Stacy Koon testified at trial that King exhibited all of the symptoms of someone under the influence of PCP. Since he was not specifically tested for it, it can never be known. I believe that he was, which contributed significantly to the difficulties with subduing him. As a cop for 25 years, I have a great deal of first hand experience with "subduing" jailhouse bodied, pumped up 250 lb. PCP resistant suspects who resist arrest.

[george wythe]

So sad when someone throws away so many chances to do something useful with his life.

I had a college friend, brilliant guy, who turned to heroin and self-destructed.

Just plain sad. Until they hit their bottom, they will almost always go back to their vices, rejecting any help.

[nutmeg]

FYI :-)

[TC Rider]

King, 39

Wow, I always figured he was 40+, the first time he got taken down and beaten. That PCP must really put the years on you.

[Rodney King]

Please see my tagline.

[gcruse]

I lived in Rialto fifteen years ago. At that time, I was advised to move by the police who said they could not keep up with the growing crime rate there. It must be a ghetto by now.

[Revolting cat!]

Can't we all just get a loan?