By Sarah Ovaska
The News & Observer
RALEIGH, N.C. — A former state trooper who drove his car into a pond and scuffled with several police officers pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges of assault and driving under the influence.
Steven Bradley, 38, of Apex, received a two-year probation sentence from Wake District Court Judge Kristin Ruth after pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence and assaulting law enforcement officers in connection with the Dec. 4 incident.
Patrick Latour, a Wake assistant district attorney, agreed to drop a misdemeanor child abuse charge in exchange for Bradley’s plea. Bradley’s children, ages 18 and 7, were in the 2006 Chrysler at the time of the accident but were not seriously injured.
Bradley, who had been with the patrol for 16 years, resigned shortly after the incident.
Raleigh police Officer D.V. Naumuk told Ruth that when he arrived at the West Raleigh pond near Jones Franklin and Macedonia roads, Bradley had bloodshot eyes and appeared intoxicated. Police think Bradley ran a stop sign, his car skidding before running off the road and continuing through woods before plunging into the pond, more than 100 feet off the road.
At the accident scene, Bradley ignored Naumuk and walked away from him several times, until Naumuk tried to arrest him. In a scuffle with several other officers, one Raleigh police officer broke his hand when he pulled Bradley to the ground, and Bradley kicked another officer, Naumuk said.
“His behavior throughout the incident was consistently belligerent,” Naumuk said.
When Bradley was arrested and brought to the Wake County jail, he was given a breath alcohol test in which he registered a 0.14 more than two hours after the crash, according to court testimony. The legal limit in North Carolina is 0.08.
He attended an inpatient treatment center for 24 days and was ordered by Ruth to perform 24 hours of community service and pay $420 in court costs and fines. Ruth also ordered him not to drive until the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles reinstates his driver’s license.
After the hearing, Bradley apologized for his conduct.
“I just want to apologize to the arresting officers,” he said. “I’m going to move on with my life.”
Before his arrest, Bradley appeared with his wife, Lisa, on an Oprah Winfrey show about debt in the spring of 2006. According to the “Oprah” Web site, the Bradleys were $170,000 in debt before undergoing a successful money makeover.
Bradley’s plea Wednesday came the day after Michael Steele, a former trooper in Orange County, was sentenced to as much as nine years in prison for targeting and fondling female Hispanic drivers.
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