Browns executive pleads in DUI case

Associated Press

FARGO, N.D.

Cleveland Browns executive Jon Sandusky has pleaded guilty to refusing a chemical test when he was pulled over last month for suspicion of drunken driving in Fargo.

Sandusky, 36, received a suspended sentence Tuesday in Fargo Municipal Court and was placed on unsupervised probation that requires him to complete a chemical dependency evaluation, defense attorney Mark Friese said Wednesday.

Sandusky will not have to serve jail time if he complies with conditions of probation, which includes no further violations of the law. The DUI charge was dismissed.

“Jon is genuinely sorry for the incident,” Friese told The Associated Press. “He takes full responsibility for his actions and he’s glad to put this matter behind him.”

Court documents in the case were not available Wednesday.

Police say Sandusky, the director of player personnel for the Browns, was pulled over for making an illegal turn in the early morning hours of Oct. 8 near the city’s downtown. Police say he crossed over three lanes of traffic to make the turn.

Officers determined Sandusky was driving under the influence after administering field sobriety tests. Fargo Police Lt. Joel Vettel said Sandusky told officers he was coming from “just down the road,” but officers did not ask for further details.

A Cleveland Browns spokesman said Sandusky has been disciplined by the team, but offered no further details or comment.

Sandusky is the son of former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, who is serving 30 to 60 years in prison for sexually abusing 10 boys over 15 years.

Jon Sandusky is in his fourth season as Cleveland’s director of player personnel after spending nine seasons with Philadelphia’s personnel department. He’s responsible for the evaluation of college prospects and NFL free agents. He played safety for Penn State from 1996-99.

The football team for North Dakota State University, located in Fargo, has a couple of players touted as pro prospects. The NDSU athletic department has declined to comment about Sandusky.