RENTON, Wash. — Former Seahawk Richard Sherman was charged Tuesday with driving while under the influence (DUI) stemming from an incident last year, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (KCPAO).
Sherman was arrested for the DUI in the early morning of Feb. 24, 2024, but charging documents were not filed until the KCPAO received blood test results from the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab on Tuesday.
“It is not uncommon for blood-test results to take months to return from the State Patrol Crime lab, regardless of the misdemeanor DUI defendant,” said KCPAO Director of Communications Casey McNerthney.
McNerthney said the lab’s turnaround time has been improving in recent months, but the KCPAO typically waits for test results “to have the most complete information before making a charging decision.”
A DUI is usually charged as a gross misdemeanor; however, a DUI can be filed as a felony if the person has three or more prior offenses within 10 years, has been previously convicted of vehicular homicide or assault while under the influence of alcohol or a drug, or is a juvenile.
According to the state of Washington’s statute of limitations, prosecuting attorneys’ offices have up to two years to prosecute for a gross misdemeanor.
Sherman was pulled over on I-405 in Renton a little before 2 a.m. on Feb. 24, 2024. In probable cause documents, a Washington State Patrol (WSP) trooper wrote that Sherman was pulled over in his Tesla for driving 79 mph in a 60 mph zone because “the vehicle was observed bouncing back and forth within the lane it was traveling in.”
ORIGINAL COVERAGE:
When asked if he had any alcohol to drink, Sherman told the trooper, “not a ton.” He then admitted to having “two margaritas.”
“I observed Sherman’s eyes to be bloodshot and watery,” the trooper wrote in the court documents. “I also noticed the odor of intoxicants coming from Sherman’s breath.”
The trooper said he observed four of the six clues from the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus, an involuntary jerking or bouncing of the eye that law enforcement uses to check as one of the standardized field sobriety tests.
“Sherman was also observed swaying back and forth while the test was being administered,” the trooper wrote.
While administering the field tests, the trooper said Sherman became frustrated with both the number of tests and the length of time he had been out of his car.
When offered a preliminary breath test, Sherman refused multiple times.
“While talking to Sherman, I noticed him to be argumentative and display mood swings, as at some points he would be compliant and other times not compliant,” the trooper wrote in the documents.
He was arrested at around 2:16 a.m., and the trooper said he did not find contraband on Sherman during a search.
The trooper transported Sherman to the WSP office in Bellevue, where Sherman once again declined a breath test.
The WSP then filed a search warrant for a legal blood draw, and Sherman was taken to Overlake Hospital in Bellevue for a blood test.
Because he had a prior DUI within ten years, Sherman was then taken to a King County Jail and booked for a DUI. The blood vials were later submitted as evidence.
Sherman also pleaded guilty to multiple misdemeanor charges for a domestic dispute at his in-laws’ Redmond home.
Sherman, a three-time All-Pro cornerback, had an 11-year NFL career and helped lead the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl title during the 2013-14 season. He was also named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s All-Decade Team of the 2010s.
Sherman became a Seattle sports legend during his seven seasons with the Seahawks before heading to rivals San Francisco for three years. He also played for Tampa Bay and at Stanford University in college.
More recently, he worked as a football analyst.
Sherman in 2022 pleaded guilty in Seattle to two misdemeanor charges stemming from a drunken driving and domestic disturbance the year before. He also admitted to a criminal infraction of speeding in a roadway construction zone.
Sherman’s arraignment is scheduled for June 30 at the King County District Court in Redmond, when he will deliver his initial plea.
The KCPAO primarily handles felony cases, but by law, King County prosecutors handle DUI cases that happen on state roads.