TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -Arizona coach Mike Stoops said linebacker Sterling Lewis would be suspended for the Las Vegas Bowl after being arrested early Thursday on an extreme DUI charge.
“It is obviously very disappointing and unfortunate,” Stoops said after practice Thursday. “There will be some serious ramifications. We never want to see that. He will pay the consequences for those decisions and he will be suspended for the game.”
Lewis was stopped at about 2 a.m. after officers saw him driving on the wrong side of the road on Tucson’s east side, police spokesman Sgt. Fabian Pacheco said.
The 21-year-old Lewis was initially cooperative and took a breath test that registered his blood alcohol content at above .15, nearly twice the legal limit in Arizona of .08 and a level that merits an extreme DUI charge, Pacheco said.
harge, Pacheco said he became upset and accused the officers of racial bias.
A passenger in Lewis’ car intervened and was satisfied with a sergeant’s explanation, but Pacheco said Lewis continued being loud, using foul language and hand gestures and taunting the officers.
Lewis was issued a misdemeanor citation on charges of DUI, DUI above .08, extreme DUI and driving the wrong way on a divided highway and released at the scene.
Lewis will miss the Las Vegas Bowl against No. 17 BYU on Dec. 20.
Lewis transferred from Blinn College in Brenham, Texas, this year. His hometown is Copperas Cove, Texas.
“It is really disappointing for him and his family,” Stoops said. “They have worked so hard and helped us get into this position – to not be a part of it, that hurts us all.”
Stoops said Lewis, a backup linebacker with 59 tackles, has “been a big part of helping us get to this point.
“He is an impact player,” Stoops said. “Not having him out there is very disappointing. I think our kids are disappointed in those selfish actions. We will support him the best we can but he will not be with us for this trip.”
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