DUI / Drunk Driving / DWI attorney news

Former Major League Baseball player who was arrested on suspicion of DUI / Drunk Driving / DWI driving under the influence and vehicular homicide last month in Fort Lauderdale pleaded not guilty in a Broward County courtroom Thursday morning.

Jim Leyritz, accompanied by DUI / Drunk Driving / DWI defense attorney Mike Dutko, entered his plea before Judge Mark Gold during Thursday's arraignment hearing.

Fort Lauderdale police said Leyritz was behind the wheel of a 2006 Ford Expedition that collided with a 2000 Mitsubishi Montero at the intersection of Southwest Seventh Avenue and Second Street in downtown Fort Lauderdale at 3:20 a.m. Dec. 28. Fredia Ann Veitch, 30, of Plantation, was ejected from the Montero and was pronounced dead at Broward General Medical Center.

According to police, Leyritz had a blood-alcohol level of .14 at 6:10 a.m. and .13 at 7:12 a.m. By Florida law, an individual with a blood-alcohol level above .08 is considered intoxicated.

Leyritz is charged with DUI / Drunk Driving / DWI DUI-manslaughter and DUI-property damage. He was additionally charged with DUI / Drunk Driving / DWI manslaughter-unlawful blood-alcohol level following the results of the DUI / Drunk Driving / DWI blood test.

"One is that he was driving under the influence of an alcoholic beverage to the extent his normal faculties were impaired," prosecutor Stefanie Newman said. "One is by an unlawful blood-alcohol level of .08 or higher."

The state filed a motion to monitor Leyritz's alcoholic intake while he awaits DUI / Drunk Driving / DWI trial. He must submit to a DUI / Drunk Driving / DWI sobriety check three times a day. An apparatus is placed on his telephone that requires him to call and verify his sobriety.

In addition, Leyritz submitted to a DNA swab to be analyzed for evidence in the DUI / Drunk Driving / DWI case.

Leyritz was arrested on suspicion of DUI because he refused a mandatory DUI / Drunk Driving / DWI blood test, DUI / Drunk Driving / DWI police said.

According to a news release by Fort Lauderdale police Detective Kathy Collins, officers at the scene observed Leyritz to have "red, watery eyes, a flushed face and an odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his person." It was then that officers initiated a DUI investigation, according to Collins. He was advised that Veitch had died and was requested to submit to a mandatory DUI / Drunk Driving / DWI blood test, DUI / Drunk Driving / DWI police said.

Leyritz refused and was informed that DUI / Drunk Driving / DWI blood would be taken "above his refusal," according to the DUI / Drunk Driving / DWI release.

Veitch was returning from her job at the Original Steakhouse in Fort Lauderdale. Police said she is the mother of two children, ages 5 and 13 years old.

The 44-year-old is most remembered for his three-run home run while playing for the New York Yankees against the Atlanta Braves in Game 4 of the 1996 World Series.

He began his career in 1990 with the Yankees, played 11 seasons in the majors with six different teams and retired in 2000.

The DUI / Drunk Driving / DWI trial date is set for May 12.