LINCOLN, Neb. -- A judge handed New England Patriots cornerback Alfonzo Dennard another year of probation and 30 additional days in jail Thursday as a result of a drinking-and-driving incident in Nebraska last summer.
Dennard was sentenced to two years of probation and 30 days in jail last April for assaulting a police officer outside a Lincoln bar in 2012. He admitted he violated his probation three months later when he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving.
Lancaster County District Court judge Stephanie Stacy extended his probation from two to three years and his jail term from 30 to 60 days. He is to report to the county jail March 1. She also barred him from consuming or possessing alcohol and increased his mandatory community service from 100 to 200 hours, with 50 hours to be performed in Nebraska.
Stacy could have revoked Dennard's probation and sent him to jail.
"This is your last chance," Stacy told him.
Dennard, who played college football at Nebraska, is scheduled to appear in county court Friday for a hearing on the July drunken-driving case.
Dennard apologized for violating probation and letting his family and teammates down. He said probation and counseling will help him to "keep learning how to walk that straight line."
Dennard declined to comment outside the courtroom. His attorney, Alan Stoler, said he was satisfied with the outcome.
During the hearing, Stacy noted she had received letters from Massachusetts authorities praising Dennard's positive attitude about community service.
"He's learned a tremendous amount from the process," Stoler said. "As the judge read from the letters, this wasn't something Alfonzo took lightly. It's affected him in a positive way, things that he's been able to do."
Prosecutor Bruce Prenda requested that Dennard's probation be revoked, but he said the state would be agreeable to a modified probation term if it included the no-alcohol provision.
Stacy noted that Dennard had not come up positive in tests initiated in August for alcohol and other controlled substances.
Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press
