For the third time since 2018, Ultimate Fighting Championship legend Pat Miletich has been arrested for driving while intoxicated.
On Thursday morning, Miletich was arrested for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (OWI) in his home city of Bettendorf, Iowa. According to a report from local news outlet KWQC, which obtained a copy of the police report of his arrest, police were called early Thursday about a driver on the wrong side of the road. The driver, later determined to be Miletich, had allegedly driven over the front embankment of a nearby Shell gas station and parked.
When an officer arrived at the scene, Miletich allegedly stated he drank wine but did not allow the officer to test him for sobriety, including a Breathalyzer. The officer identified that there were tire tracks in the grass and some damage to a retaining wall in the station’s parking lot. Miletich’s truck also had sustained some damage consistent with the markings on the wall, per the report. The truck, which did not appear to have any passengers, was caught on local traffic cameras driving in an unusual manner. Miletich was said to have had “bloodshot and watery eyes, slurred speech, unsteady balance” and that he “smelled of alcohol.”
Miletich was arrested by the Bettendorf Police Department, where he was booked at 6:16 a.m. local time. He was released by 8:00 a.m. Iowa time, having paid a $5,000 bond. He has been charged with an OWI, and it is his third offense in this category. Miletich first was brought in back in 2018 for drunk driving, and he pleaded guilty to the charge. In 2020, he again was booked for driving under the influence, this time in Illinois, and once more he was convicted of the offense.
Per Iowa Code 2023, Section 321J.2, a person found guilty of a third offense of operating a motor vehicle under the influence will receive the following sentence: a mandatory minimum jail time of 30 days in county jail, with a maximum possible prison term of five years; a fine of anywhere between $3,125 and $9,375 along with the allotted fees and surcharges; the revocation of their driver’s license for six years; and the person is required to attend and complete a substance abuse evaluation and potential treatment program.
Following his release on Thursday, the 57-year-old later attended a press conference ahead of his scheduled bout in the Caged Aggression promotion, where he plans to take on fellow UFC vet Mike Jackson in an MMA bout on Oct. 14. The organization informed MMA Junkie that the fight will proceed as scheduled, despite Miletich’s arrest. A court date has not been set for Miletich’s case.
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