More details have emerged surrounding Jeff Hardy’s written plea of not guilty in the wake of his DUI arrest in June.
Jeff Hardy was arrested on June 13th after allegedly driving under the influence. According to Volusia County jail records, Hardy was charged with Driving While License Canceled/Suspended/Revoked, Violation of Restrictions Placed on Drivers License, and DUI Alcohol/Drugs Third Offense within 10 Years.
It was later reported that Hardy had nearly four times the legal limit of alcohol in his blood at the time of his arrest.
Hardy’s arrest report noted that the wrestler’s car was “swerving” and “running off” the road. Upon being pulled over, Hardy was said to be “in a stupor and confused.” After getting out of the car, Hardy was unsteady and smelled of alcohol. Officers confirmed after a conversation that he had been drinking. The report states that he couldn’t complete any portion of the sobriety exercises successfully, or “without risk of falling.”
Footage of the arrest showed that Hardy was visibly confused, and he can be heard saying that he had been drinking double shots of Fireball earlier in the night. Hardy said that he was on his way to undergo a brain scan as a result of head trauma.
PWInsider reported earlier today that Jeff Hardy had entered a written plea of not guilty on June 28th, and now in an update, they’ve obtained a copy of the plea itself. The plea reads as follows, and seems to reveal that he will not be arraigned on July 5th as originally scheduled as he’s waived the right to be present at pretrial conferences.
“Defendant, Jeffrey Nero Hardy, pursuant to rules 3.160(a), Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, waives arraignment by filing this written plea of not guilty. Albritton v. White, 948 So. 2d 852, 854 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007). Defendant further waives the right to be present at all pretrial conferences”
Footage of the arrest emerged online and can be seen here. AEW has suspended Jeff Hardy without pay following the arrest, and the company has pledged to help him seek treatment for his substance abuse issues.
Tony Khan recently revealed that Jeff Hardy is indeed undergoing treatment and seems to be improving.