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No Comment From Bucs On Boston Arrest

Police video

Bucs player David Boston takes a field sobriety test.

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 24, 2007

Updated: 08/24/2007 11:34 am

PINELLAS PARK - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had no public comment on the DUI arrest Thursday night of wide receiver David Boston.

Boston, 29, who lives in Cooper City, was found passed out at the wheel of a dark red Range Rover at 49th Street and Park Boulevard, Pinellas Park police said. The vehicle was in a travel lane, and the engine was running.

"We're assuming he stopped at the red light and passed out," police Capt. Sanfield Forseth said. "He didn't know where he was."

The jail affidavit said that Boston had poor balance. It also said he has a tattoo of "Chucky" on the right side of his chest.

"He seemed disoriented and confused," the arresting officer, identified as J. McNeil, said in the arrest affidavit. "He had mood swings and seemed evasive."

At 8:30 p.m., Boston was taken to the Pinellas County Jail, where he was booked on a charge of driving under the influence.

David Boston

He was released on his own recognizance.

A drunkenness-recognition expert was called to the scene and conducted a field sobriety test, then escorted Boston to jail. A so-called DRE exam goes beyond the field sobriety test and includes a check of a driver's muscle tone and pupils, Forseth said.

Breath tests indicated there was no alcohol in Boston's system, and the results of a urine test are pending, Forseth said.

Boston told Pinellas Park police he had left practice in Orlando and was on his way to Tampa International Airport, where he had a hotel room. He apparently missed the TIA exit and continued across Tampa Bay into Pinellas Park.

The Range Rover had Texas plates and wasn't registered to Boston, Forseth said.

At the scene, his eyes were bouncing back and forth and jerking, Forseth said. When officers told him he was in Pinellas Park, he responded, "Where is Pinellas Park?" Forseth said. "He believed he was somewhere in Hillsborough County."

A woman who identified herself as Boston's wife answered his telephone today. She said she hadn't heard of what occurred and when informed by a reporter of her husband's arrest said, "Oh really," then hung up the phone.

The Bucs have had no comment on the incident, and it appeared likely that Boston – who is trying to make a comeback after missing the previous two seasons – would go to Miami for the team's Saturday game against the Dolphins.

If the urine test doesn't come back clean, Boston could face a four-game suspension, which would be his second since he came to the NFL in 1999.

Boston's first suspension was in 2004 after he was found to be in violation of the league's steroid policy.

Also, in 2004, he was charged with simple assault in Burlington, Vt., for striking a ticket agent at an airport. He pleaded no contest.

Tribune staff writer Roy Cummings contributed to this report. Contact Stephen Thompson at sthompson@tampatrib.com or 727-823-3303

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