Detroit Pistons center Ben Wallace was arrested at 3 a.m. this past Saturday. He was pulled over in Bloomfield Hills and was arrested for drunken driving and carrying a concealed weapon.
It's not clear what Wallace's blood-alcohol level was, but a breathalyzer test revealed it was over the legal limit (.08). A search of Wallace's car -- a 2007 Cadillac Escalade -- revealed he was carrying a pistol. It wasn't loaded, but it was found in a backpack in the passenger compartment.
Wallace was arraigned on Saturday and charged with operating while intoxicated and the unlawful carrying of a concealed weapon. The OWI charge is a 93-day misdemeanor, whereas the concealed weapon charge is a five-year felony. One wouldn't think he will face that much jail time, but then again, he has been assigned Judge Kimberly Small.
His case has been assigned by blind draw to District Judge Kimberly Small, who made headlines this past July when she sentenced ESPN analyst and former NBA and Michigan basketball star Jalen Rose to 20 days in the Oakland County Jail and one year's probation for a March drunken driving incident in which he drove off the road in West Bloomfield Township.
It was Rose's first drunken driving offense, but Small frequently sentences first-time offenders to jail, citing national statistics and the deadly seriousness of motorists making the decision to get behind the wheel while drunk.
Wallace has a pre-exam conference scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 3.