Dennis Rodman Charged with Misdemeanor Drunken Driving. Again

UPDATE, JAN. 26, 10:48 A.M.: Alleging Dennis Rodman had a blood-alcohol content three times the legal limit in California when he was pulled over Jan. 13 in Newport Beach, the Orange County District Attorney’s office on Thursday charged the NBA Hall of Famer with misdemeanor drunken driving.

Meanwhile, Rodman’s lawyer Paul Meyer reportedly says that after his client’s arrest, the 56-year-old immediately entered a residential treatment program and committed to long-term outpatient treatment.

The Orange County Register quotes a statement issued by Meyer:

“He recognizes the problem and is working hard. No one questions his big heart and care for others. In recent months, he completed his community-service obligation (for a previous case) by donating many hours in long-term care facilities and making a real difference in people’s lives. I think the responsible way that Dennis is facing his current situation will be an inspiration to many others.”

ORIGINAL POST, JAN. 17, 5:50 A.M.: The latest word from Wormland is that Dennis Rodman could go to prison for up to two years because of his recent DUI arrest.

Newport Beach cops popped the NBA Hall of Famer for suspected driving under the influence just after 11:10 p.m. Jan. 13, when the 56-year-old was pulled over for allegedly swerving in the 4500 block of West Coast Highway (near Hoag Hospital hill).

Police couldn’t miss the ride, and not solely because a 6-foot-8, 235-pound “Freak” was behind the wheel. Loud music was reportedly blaring from its speakers.

After an officer made contact, Rodman is claimed to have reeked of booze. He failed a field sobriety test, blew into a Breathalyzer over an .08 percent blood alcohol content (BAC)—the California legal limit—and was arrested and jailed through the following morning before being released, according to Newport Beach Police Lt. Rachel Johnson.

Because The Worm is already on three years’ probation for causing a July 2016 wrong way crash on the 5 freeway near Main Street, he will likely have to serve out all or some of the original two-year prison sentence he was facing before the court’s probation offer in exchange for a guilty plea, TMZ reports.

If and whenever Rodman emerges from behind bars (or, as his lawyer Paul Meyer has yet again suggested, like a broken record, that his client should go to rehab), it is time for the City of Newport Beach to seriously consider trading the former NBA rebound leader. And we have the perfect destination, one that Rodman knows well. More on that in a bit. First, let us recount the multiple reasons he has worn out his welcome in Newps.

Dec. 22, 1999: He was arrested behind the wheel of a Bentley after leaving South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, where he would blow a .15 percent and go on, as a first-time DUI offender, to plead guilty to misdemeanor DUI and driving without a valid California license, pay $2,000 in fees and fine and attend a three-month alcohol program. At the end of the 1999-2000 season, he retired from the NBA.

March 2001: A woman claimed Rodman drugged her, took her to his West Newport beach house and sexually assaulted her several times. No criminal charges were filed, but Jo Len McGowen later accused Rodman in civil court of sexual battery, negligence and false imprisonment. Rodman testified he had no recollection of ever having met her.

May 9, 2009: To kick off the celebration of his 40th birthday with about 300 guests (only a third of whom had actually been invited), Rodman made a grand entrance via a helicopter that landed on the sand of the public beach next to his home, where live bands played. The police department, which received more than 50 complaints from angry neighbors, sent about 30 cops to the scene, some in riot gear. No arrests were made as Rodman moved his party to Josh Slocum’s, a restaurant he co-owned at the time. But NBPD explored suing him or at the very least making him pay for the police response as Rodman had not secured permits for the helicopter or the live music. A report was also sent to the Federal Aviation Administration because it is a violation for a pilot to land without authority absent an emergency.


Aug. 3, 2001: At least three peopled complained that Rodman’s 47-foot Fountain powerboat Sexual Chocolate was traveling more than 20 mph through the 5-mph zone near Lido Isle Yacht Club. Just before 3 p.m., deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol went the Josh Slocum’s, where Sexual Chocolate was docked, to cite Rodman. A month later, he was charged with two misdemeanors.

Aug. 26, 2001: Someone apparently said something Rodman did not like at the Hooters restaurant that used to be on the Balboa Peninsula, where he walked in around 5:45 p.m. with a fire extinguisher and started spraying people. Police said he also got into a shoving match before leaving.

2002: He was arrested for obstructing officers investigating a code violation at Josh Slocum’s, although prosecutors did not press charges.

May 13, 2003: Costa Mesa’s Michelle Moyer, who had already given Rodman a son and a daughter, became his third wife on his 42nd birthday. It was also four months after a previous fiancee got him arrested for alleged domestic violence.

Aug. 3, 2003: After the manager of a small marina at 2547 W. Coast Hwy., Newport Beach, asked that Sexual Chocolate be moved from a private dock, Rodman refused. So, the Harbor Patrol was summoned, and the tub was impounded.

Sept. 4, 2003: Witnesses called Harbor Patrol to say they spotted Rodman piloting Sexual Chocolate erratically around 2 p.m. Deputies caught up with him outside of the Cannery, where he was arrested on suspicion of public drunkenness. “He was attempting to untie his boat when deputies drove up,” said Jim Amormino, who was the Orange County sheriff’s spokesman at the time. “They actually witnessed him fall to the ground. That’s how intoxicated he was. He was unable to care for himself.”

2004: The new Mrs. Rodman tells police her hubby roughed her up. He went on to plead no contest to spousal battery and was sentenced to counseling and three years probation.

May 14, 2004: The Harbor Patrol was called because Sexual Chocolate had remained docked near Woody’s Wharf for five straight days. The boat was towed, something Rodman was charged for along with daily impound fees.

Oct. 8, 2010: Rodman, who was staying at Surf and Sand Hotel in Laguna Beach while filming the British television show Freddy vs the World, got kicked out for allegedly being drunk and disorderly. At the hotel bar, security asked him several times to simmer down and stop disturbing guests, but the bad boy behavior is claimed to have continued until he was surrounded by seven officers who escorted him out.

Jan. 10, 2010: Rodman was escorted by Irvine police officers out of Waterfalls restaurant at the Atrium Hotel after patrons complained about his boozy behavior. When officers arrived, Rodman was cooperative and agreed to leave without incident. (That same night, he was featured in the season premiere of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.)

2011: Michelle Rodman took out a restraining order against her estranged husband, claiming there was always “chaos” around her home when he came over to visit their two children.

December 2011: Starzuncut.com minions reported taking part in a night of exchanging Patron shots with Rodman at Fuji Yama on the peninsula. “Dennis didn’t slow down at all,” read the post, “the dude can drink like a champ!” Fortunately, no incidents were reported to police.

March 27, 2012: With Rodman’s marriage to the Michelle having dissolved, he was due in Orange family court for a contempt hearing that had him facing jail time for failing to pony up $808,935 in back child support and $51,441 in back spousal support and attorney fees. Pro bono attorneys for the former rebounding machine countered that Rodman was “broke and cannot afford any additional fees” and, due to being “extremely sick,” could no longer generate that kind of scratch. It was revealed at the hearing that Rodman also owed more than $350,000 in back state taxes.


July 20, 2016: Around 12:30 a.m., a luxury SUV was heading the wrong direction in the 5 freeway’s southbound carpool lane near Main Street, causing a BMW driver to swerve out of the way and into the concrete divider. Questioned by responding California Highway Patrol officers, the Beemer driver said the SUV driver appeared to be Rodman and that whoever he was got back into his ride and drove away after the wreck. Rodman later denied it was him but, upon further investigation, the CHP concluded it was him. Rodman went on to cop to three misdemeanors: driving a motor vehicle across a dividing section, giving false information to a police officer and driving a motor vehicle without a valid license. As part of “a civil compromise between the defendant and the victim,” the court dismissed a misdemeanor count of hit and run with property damage. He was sentenced to three years of informal probation, 30 hours of community service and orders to pay restitution and donate $500 to the Victim Witness Emergency Fund.

Jan. 13, 2018: Rodman’s most recent DUI.

In addition to the above incidents, the Newport Beach Police Department reported that through 2003, its officers had responded to more than 80 noise complaints at Rodman’s Seashore Drive home, which he later sold for $3.8 million.

Also keep in mind the touchstones from outside Orange County, including: his attempted suicide in 1993; his and then-wife Carmen Electra’s November 1999 charges in a domestic disturbance; an October 2003 drunken motorcycle crash outside a Las Vegas strip club; his two speeding tickets—written on the same day in July 2005—for driving 98 mph and 89 mph on different stretches of Interstate 70 in Colorado; his April 2008 arrest for suspected domestic violence at a Los Angeles hotel; and—the biggest crime of them all—his September 2016 endorsement of Donald Trump for president.

Which brings us to our proposed trade of Rodman to North Korea. Think about it, he already knows how to get there no matter his state of mind, and he’s already bosom buds with Kim Jong-un, having visited and hung with the Supreme Commander several times, even offering to broker a peace deal for Trump, Rodman’s former Celebrity Apprentice “boss.” Surely Kim could create a wide enough swath in his country to accommodate The Worm’s hearty partying.

Who would we get in return? I’d say all or some of the “Pleasure Squad” who, as young women … ahem … “served” Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il. Shortly after assuming the highest position in the land, and not knowing who and who not to trust from the previous regime, Kim Jong-un disbanded the Pleasure Squad, sending them off for re-indoctrination. He later formed a new Pleasure Squad with what were reported to be fresh young virgins.

Newport Beach, in exchange for Rodman, should be happy to wrap the original Pleasure Squad members in the American flag, the finest Fashion Island fashions and long overdue protections courtesy of the #MeToo movement.