Ex-Bear sentenced to 18 months in prison for repeat DUI
It's third and 18 months to go for a former Chicago Bears quarterback who pleaded guilty Wednesday to his third DUI and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
DuPage County prosecutors said Bob Avellini, 61, entered court unannounced and pleaded guilty to one count of felony aggravated DUI. He had been scheduled to go to trial on the charge next month, but Judge Daniel Guerin instead accepted his plea and sentenced Avellini.
He'll be allowed to begin serving his sentence on Dec. 1, giving him time to travel to California later this month to testify in a trial for a workers' compensation claim he filed against the Bears in 2011. Guerin ordered Avellini to wear an alcohol monitoring device on his ankle until he surrenders.
Avellini initially was fitted for the device following his September 2013 arrest but it was removed after he complained it caused a rash.
Avellini, who played for the Bears from 1975 to 1984, was charged with the felony aggravated DUI on Sept. 15, 2013, when police stopped him near his home in Roselle.
According to court documents, Avellini's blood-alcohol level was .16, double the .08 limit, and he was nine days into a probationary term for a 2012 misdemeanor DUI conviction, which resulted in his license being suspended. Avellini also was convicted of DUI in 2002.
Avellini must serve half of his sentence before being eligible for parole in August 2015.
Avellini's attorney, David Spada, did not return a message left at his office Wednesday afternoon.