Arizona Cardinal John Abraham charged with DUI

ATLANTA (AP) — Authorities say Arizona Cardinals linebacker John Abraham was arrested on a drunken driving charge a month ago in the Atlanta area.

Abraham has been absent from the team’s training camp since Friday.

DeKalb County Jail records show that the 36-year-old was taken into custody June 29 and released the same day.

Abraham was driving a black, 2013 Dodge Challenger that had stopped in the center southbound lane of a suburban Atlanta road the afternoon of June 29, Brookhaven, Georgia police said in an incident report. Abraham smelled of alcohol and failed voluntary sobriety tests — including reciting a portion of the alphabet. Police said Abraham remained asleep for several minutes after police arrived, despite an officer shouting and pounding on his doors and windows.

After Abraham woke up, he told investigators he was coming from the Pink Pony — a local strip club — and the person who was supposed to pick him up hadn’t arrived, police said in the report.

The records show Abraham was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, as well as stopping, standing or parking in a prohibited place.

Records from the jail do not indicate whether the case had been resolved as of Tuesday, nor do they list an attorney for Abraham.

The Cardinals have said only that Abraham has been absent from camp for personal reasons.

This is not the first brush with the law for Abraham, who has also played for the Atlanta Falcons and New York Jets.

In 2012, he was arrested on an obstruction charge in Atlanta after he repeatedly refused to leave an area taped off by firefighters and police. A police report said he appeared intoxicated, smelled of alcohol, was unsteady on his feet and slurred his speech. It was not immediately clear whether that case had been resolved.

And in 2003, Abraham pleaded guilty to driving while impaired in New York after he drove his SUV into a fire hydrant and light pole. Police had said his blood alcohol content measured more than three times the legal limit.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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