SANTA ANA, Calif. – A former NBA star was convicted today of driving the wrong way on the freeway and providing false information to the police.
Dennis Keith Rodman, 55, Newport Beach, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of driving a motor vehicle across a dividing section, one misdemeanor count of giving false information to a police officer, and one misdemeanor count of driving a motor vehicle without a valid license. The court accepted a civil compromise between the defendant and the victim and discharged one misdemeanor count of hit and run with property damage.
Rodman was sentenced to three years of informal probation, 30 hours of community service, must pay restitution, and must donate $500 to the Victim Witness Emergency Fund.
At approximately 12:30 a.m. on July 20, 2016, Rodman drove a sport utility vehicle traveling north in the southbound carpool lane on Interstate 5 near Main Street in Santa Ana. The lane bears concrete dividing walls on either side. Rodman drove head-on toward a sedan, causing the driver of the sedan to swerve and crash into a dividing wall to avoid contact with the defendant’s vehicle. The victim called 911 and California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers responded to the scene. Rodman failed to exchange information with the other driver and fled the scene prior to CHP’s arrival.
CHP identified Rodman during the course of their investigation. The defendant gave verbal false accounts to investigating officers.
