Byron Pringle’s charges were amended from viral traffic arrest
Chicago Bears wide receiver Byron Pringle was found guilty on two counts stemming from a viral traffic arrest in April, per Pasco County Court records. Pringle was charged with reckless driving and driving while his license was suspended or revoked.
According to court records, the court amended those charges to careless driving and failure to display a driver’s license. Pringle pleaded no contest to both charges on Tuesday. The court decided to withhold adjudication on both charges. Joseph Poblick was listed as the presiding judge in the case. Per the court documents, Pringle was ordered to pay civil penalties amounting to $275.
Byron Pringle had a viral arrest video in April
The arrest report from the April incident alleged Pringle’s vehicle reduced roadway visibility after squealing its tires. Florida Highway Patrol officer Justin Bloom wrote in the report that Pringle’s Dodge Challenger’s tire marks would be consistent with a vehicle doing a donut. When performing a background check on Pringle, Bloom noticed Pringle allegedly had his license suspended.
Video of the arrest went viral not long after the incident. Pringle was with an adult passenger and a male juvenile child at the time. Bloom wrote in the arrest report that Pringle ignored officers’ commands and was verbally confrontational after officers told him he was being arrested.
Pringle had other traffic incidents this year
In May, Pringle entered a plea of “not guilty” for the April arrest. His attorney, Michael Braxton, wrote that Pringle was demanding a trial by jury, per Pasco County Court records. The case never went to a trial by jury as Tuesday’s hearing was a pretrial conference, per records.
Following the April arrest, Pringle received another traffic citation for an incident on May 30th, according to Pasco County Court records. The traffic citation alleged that Pringle was driving an unlawful speed of 81 miles per hour in a 55 mph zone while driving in a 2017 green Dodge Ram truck. Court records state that the case did not go to trial and that Pringle was found guilty.
Byron Pringle is in his first year with the Bears
Byron Pringle is playing his first season in Chicago. At a June press conference, media members present asked the new Bears wide receiver about the April arrest incident. He made it clear he did not want to talk about the incident. Pringle said he was focusing on football.
Pringle was looking good at the start of the Bears training camp in July. However, Pringle sustained a quad injury in August and has been out of practice since.
CCS contacted Pringle and his attorney, Michael Braxton, for comment on the story. Both did not return messages before the time of this publication.
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