Tiger football player arrested for drinking while driving
The officer found an open bottle of beer in the vehicle that was still cold.
Published Oct. 5, 2010
Missouri football junior defensive lineman Jimmy Burge was arrested Saturday for drinking alcohol while driving. Columbia Police Department spokeswoman Jill Wieneke said an officer pulled Burge over for making an illegal left-hand turn.
“He could smell alcohol and thought he (Burge) might be intoxicated,” Wieneke said.
The officer asked Burge if he had been drinking, and he told the officer he had not.
“He was obviously suspicious, because it didn’t match up with what the officer was seeing,” Wieneke said.
The officer conducted a field sobriety test and took Burge to the department on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. At the station, police conducted a blood alcohol level test.
“He didn’t blow a .08 or over,” Wieneke said. “He did test positive for presence of alcohol, but it was below the legal limit and he’s 21 (years old).”
The officer did find an open bottle of beer in Burge truck that was still cold, Wieneke said. The officer asked Burge if he had been drinking while driving. After initially denying that he had, Burge told police that he had been consuming alcohol while driving.
According to CPD arrest records, Burge was arrested on suspicion of drinking intoxicating liquors while operating a vehicle.
Burge’s arrest marks the fifth for the football program this semester. In August, four members of the program, including three players and one assistant coach, were arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Former senior tailback Derrick Washington was arrested in September on suspicion of deviate sexual assault and two counts of third-degree domestic assault.