Gillispie told UK about DUI arrests

By Beth Musgrave

The University of Kentucky�s new basketball coach comes with an impressive basketball pedigree, but Billy Gillispie also has a history of minor problems with the law.

In 1999, Gillispie was arrested on two charges: driving while intoxicated and improper use of a lane in Tulsa, Okla.

He eventually pleaded guilty to a charge of reckless driving, and other charges were dismissed.

In 2003, in his first year at the University of Texas-El Paso, he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving.

The charges eventually were dismissed after a specially appointed prosecutor decided that there was not enough evidence to suggest that Gillispie, then 43, was drunk.

At a news conference Friday, Gillispie said he was up front with UK Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart and President Lee Todd about his past brushes with the law.

�I�m not proud of some of things that I�ve done,� Gillispie said.

Gillispie said that was in the past and he can�t go back and change what has happened. Barnhart said Gillispie was �right up front� about the two charges and added that Gillispie was aware that the standards will be high for the UK basketball coach.

�We�re putting that in the rear-view mirror,� Barnhart said.

According to court records, Gillispie was charged Oct. 28, 1999, with driving while under the influence and improper use of a lane while he was an assistant coach at Tulsa.

He later pleaded guilty to an amended charge of reckless driving in 2000, according to Oklahoma court records.

According to news reports, on Jan. 26 2003, Gillispie was stopped at 2:20 a.m. in downtown El Paso, Texas, after going the wrong way down a one-way street. He was released about four hours later, and no charges were filed.

The next day, though, the city�s police chief asked the El Paso District Attorney to review the case, and later an arrest warrant was issued for Gillispie.

According to the police report, Gillispie told police that he was new in town and unfamiliar with the streets.

Gillispie also handed police officers a credit card instead of his license when he was first asked for identification.

Gillispie was given several field-sobriety tests but refused to take a Breathalyzer. Gillispie, his lawyer later said, offered to give officers blood for a blood test, which is more accurate than a Breathalyzer. The officers refused.

Gillispie had admitted to drinking that night, but a toxicologist later determined that based on Gillispie�s height, weight and the number of drinks he consumed over several hours, it was unlikely that Gillispie was drunk at the time he was pulled over.

The charges were dropped in June 2003.

Gillispie maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings.

He also sent more than 1,000 handwritten letters to UTEP season-ticket holders after the incident, apologizing for bringing any bad publicity to the school or the basketball program, according to the El Paso Times.