Bulls' Rose pleads guilty, gets fine and court supervision
Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose was sentenced Monday in Kane County traffic court to six months of court supervision after pleading guilty to driving in excess of 100 mph on the Reagan Tollway.
Rose, 19, also must pay a $1,000 fine and complete a four-hour traffic school program in DuPage County. He apologized for the offense and said it would not happen again.
"I did something stupid," Rose told reporters outside of court. "I'm sorry for what I did but I learned from my mistake."
Rose, who has no prior traffic or criminal offenses, said he was traveling to his home in Chicago and wasn't paying attention to how fast he was driving about 3 a.m. April 29 when state police clocked his 2008 Land Rover at 106 mph in a 65 mph zone on Interstate 88, west of Route 47. The misdemeanor carried a possible sentence of up to one year in jail and $2,500 in fines.
On Monday, the former University of Memphis standout arrived at the Kane County Judicial Center in St. Charles shortly before 9 a.m., wearing a sharp charcoal colored suit, light blue shirt and tie. Appearing before Judge Robert J. Morrow, Rose's attorney, Terry Ekl, cited the player's clean driving record in asking Judge Robert J. Morrow for the sentence his client ended up receiving. Prosecutors did not object.
"You're record is clean. That's a good thing. You're way over the limit. That's a bad thing," Morrow told Rose, adding he was willing to "take a chance" on the athlete.
Outside of the courthouse, Rose was met by several television cameras and news photographers, as well as a few fans for whom he stopped to chat and sign autographs.
"He's awesome," said 13-year-old Joel Lopez of St. Charles, who managed to get Rose's signature on a basketball.
Lopez's father, Neal, said he had read that Rose was slated to appear in court and couldn't pass up the opportunity to take his son.
"He said, 'Dad, we got to go,'" the father said. "Being a No. 1 draft pick, come on, we have to come out."
Ekl added that Rose strives to be a good example for children and is generally a "wonderful, wonderful person."
"He made a mistake in this particular case and has learned a valuable lesson," Ekl said.