Donte Stallworth Makes Plea Deal In DUI Manslaughter Case (UPDATE)

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth has reportedly reached an agreement with prosecutors and will plead guilty to DUI manslaughter charges later today. Terms have not been announced, but he is expected to serve jail time. (30 days. Update below.)

Everyone involved was probably eager to see this case end and whatever deal Stallworth got has to be significantly better than the 15 years he faced in prison if convicted. A spokesperson for the state's attorney says that even the victim's family just wants it to be over with. Stallworth hit a pedestrian—who may or may not have been jaywalking—after leaving a bar on March 14, but did not try avoid responsibility or guilt.

There's no way to know at this point how the jail term will affect his football career, but it's a good bet that he won't be on the field next season. (Or maybe the one after that.) And that's before the league office has its way with him.

Cleveland Browns' Donte' Stallworth to plead guilty, serve time in DUI manslaughter case [ESPN]

UPDATE: Stallworth did appear in court today and has been sentenced to 30 days in jail, which is slightly less than 15 years. He will also serve two years house arrest, 1,000 hours of community service and will be on probation for eight additional years. In addition, he already reached a financial settlement with the family of the victim, Mario Reyes, and will avoid a civil lawsuit. That's some nice lawyering, boys.

So maybe he could play this year? Normally, house arrest means you can go to work, but not necessarily if that work involves flying out of town every other weekend. Plus, once again, who knows how the NFL will react to this. Still, I don't have a lot of experience with DUI manslaughter, but I've got to believe that one month of jail time is a pretty remarkable outcome, even if he did do "everything right" in the aftermath.

Donte' Stallworth gets 1 month in jail, 2 years house arrest in DUI death [Miami Herald]