Ex-49ers star Aldon Smith pleads no contest to DUI in San Mateo County
Former San Francisco 49ers star Aldon Smith pleaded no contest Thursday to DUI charges stemming from a 2021 arrest at a Redwood City freeway offramp, in which he allegedly tried to bribe a driver he hit into not calling police.
Smith, 33, entered the change of plea — he initially pleaded not guilty at his arraignment — in San Mateo County Superior Court after an offer from Judge Kevin Dunleavy to issue a sentence of no more than 16 months in prison for the troubled former NFL player.
Thursday was scheduled to be a one-day trial for Smith, but after discussion between his attorney, prosecutors and the court, he chose to take the plea option. He has a court hearing scheduled for March 16, which is when Dunleavy plans to rule on a presentencing report that could recommend anything ranging from the 16-month prison term to a shorter county jail term or even a custody-diversion option, such as court-ordered rehabilitation.
Smith’s attorney, Josh Bentley, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday morning.
Smith, the 49ers’ single-season sack record holder, was arrested Dec. 6, 2021 after rear-ending a Recology work truck on an Interstate 280 off-ramp in Redwood City. Authorities say he offered the truck driver $1,000 for a ride and to not alert police, according to charging documents. The driver of the Recology truck suffered minor injuries.
Instead, California Highway Patrol officers were called to the scene and found two empty bottles of hard alcohol in Smith’s truck, court records allege.
Smith declined a field sobriety test but later took a blood test that showed a blood-alcohol content of .288 percent, more than three times the legal limit, according to investigators.
The former NFL star’s promising career was derailed by his off-field issues, including three prior DUI convictions in addition to domestic violence and battery charges, many of them in the San Jose area, where he lives. He has been suspended from the league three times — for nine games, one year, and finally indefinitely, which turned out to be two seasons before a 2020 return.
The 49ers drafted him seventh overall out of Missouri in 2011 and he set an NFL record with 33.5 sacks in his first two seasons. But San Francisco released him in 2015 after a DUI arrest, his third since joining the team. The Raiders released him in 2018 after an arrest on suspicion of domestic violence, battery and false imprisonment. Shortly thereafter, he was indefinitely suspended by the league.
In the 2020 offseason, he was reinstated and signed with the Cowboys, starting all 16 games. He signed the following spring with Seattle before another battery arrest led to his release months later. He is currently an NFL free agent.
Smith has been out of jail custody on $50,000 bail and is required by the court to wear a physical blood-alcohol monitor while his case is being adjudicated.
Two of Smith’s former teams face off Sunday in the NFC divisional round, when the 49ers host the Cowboys at Levi’s Stadium. Nick Bosa this year threatened Smith’s franchise record for sacks in a season, but came up one short of Smith’s 19.5 sacks registered in 2012.