Linebacker Aldon Smith is certainly a repeat offender. He's had several arrests for DUIs and marijuana and gun possession. Now, due to his latest brush with the the law, the All-Pro will sit out the remainder of this season and part of next.
On Aug. 6, Smith was charged again with DUI, as well as hit-and-run and vandalism. The next day, the 49ers released him. A month later, just in time for the opening of the 2015 season, the Raiders signed him. In nine games with Oakland, he registered 3.5 sacks. On Nov. 17, the NFL issued a one-year suspension.
Last season, Smith sat out nine games (four for violating the league's substance-abuse policy and five for violating the personal-condust policy).
On Sept 20, 2014, Smith was charged with DUI and marijuana possession after a car crash in San Jose at 7 am. The accident (he hit a tree) took place on Bentley Ridge Dr., about eight miles from his home on Higuera Highland Lane. He failed a Breathalyzer test (.15 blood alcohol level, twice the legal limit), was booked at Santa Clara County Jail and released on $5,250 bail before 12 pm.
One site says Smith had a medical-marijuana card, but according to a source quoted in the San Jose Mercury News, he "didn't have a prescription for pot."
This was Smith's second DUI; the first occurred in Miami Beach in 2011.
In June 2012, he was arrested again on three counts for possessing an assault weapon.
Smith was drafted by San Francisco out of Missouri in the first round of the 2011 draft. He had 37 sacks in his first two seasons and was selected to the All-Pro first team in 2012. Smith was also picked for the Pro Bowl and named the 49ers' MVP in his sophomore season. San Francisco lost to Baltimore in Super Bowl XLVII.
Smith told the press at the time of the 2014 DUI bust he was "sorry" and "will do everything in (his) power to make sure this never happens again."
Upon his latest suspension, Smith commented: "I'd lost my love for the game, and it led me to some poor choices, but I'm thankful to the Raider organization for believing in me this season and will continue to better myself and grow from my experiences. I look forward to rejoining the team next year."
