Already facing a six-game suspension for violation of the league’s steroids policy, linebacker D.J. Williams is dealing with a separate off-field issue on Wednesday.
Per the Associated Press, he’s back in court on DUI charges that resulted in a mistrial earlier this year after the judge inadvertently failed to give Broncos unofficial consigliere Harvey Steinberg the opportunity to strike three potential jurors from the panel. Steinberg got only two so-called peremptory strikes.
The incident occurred in Nocember 2010, but the trial has been delayed multiple times.
A jury has been seated and the testimony was expected to be completed on Wednesday. It’s unclear whether the case would go to the jury for deliberations on Wednesday or Thursday.
Williams’ absence from camp for the trial isn’t a major issue, given the looming suspension. Listed as a starter, he’s been practicing with the backups, and he was held out of contact drills until Monday.
He’s due to rejoin the team on October 28, regardless of the outcome of the DUI case. Even if Williams is convicted, a first-time DUI ordinarily results in a fine in the amount of two game checks.
UPDATE 5:23 p.m. ET: And, fittingly, another mistrial has been requested, according to Ivan Moreno of the AP. The request was made after a police officer said on the witness stand that they don’t take sober people to detox.