Kansas City Chiefs Player Arrested for DUI

NEWPORT NEWS - An NFL football player from Newport News was found guilty Tuesday of driving drunk on J. Clyde Morris Boulevard one early morning in March.

David T. Macklin, 30 — formerly with the Kansas City Chiefs but now a free agent — was given a 6-month suspended jail term, a $250 fine, and a restricted driver's license that allows him to drive for work when sentenced Tuesday by Newport News General District Court Judge Richard C. Kerns.

Macklin played for Menchville High School and Penn State University before turning pro nine years ago.


But Macklin was cut from the Chiefs' roster on March 18, five days after the arrest. The Chiefs declined to comment Tuesday on why the contract was terminated.

Macklin was pulled over at 3:13 a.m. on March 13, as he drove his 2005 BMW on the Exit 258 off-ramp from westbound Interstate 64 onto J. Clyde Morris Boulevard.

Macklin was initially stopped because of the dark window tint on his BMW, court records say.

But Virginia State Police Trooper J.R. Street said he smelled a "strong odor" of alcohol and that Macklin performed poorly on field sobriety tests.

In a breath test, Macklin registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.11, the officer said. The legal limit in Virginia is 0.08.

Macklin, the only person in the car, was cooperative during the arrest, police said.

Aside from the first-time DUI offense — a misdemeanor — Macklin was also charged with having an illegal tint on his windows. Kerns acquitted Macklin Tuesday of the tint window charge.

After the hearing, Macklin's lawyer, Ronald L. Smith, gave notice that he would appeal Macklin's DUI conviction to Newport News Circuit Court. A trial date for that appeal not yet been set.

Macklin runs a foundation, 27 Reasons, for underprivileged youth and children with disabilities. Before the Chiefs, he played for NFL teams in Indianapolis, Arizona, Washington and St. Louis. Macklin was a fourth-round choice by Indianapolis in the 2000 draft.
-Courtesy of The Daily Press