Packers coach Perry fined $225 for first-offense drunken driving

GREEN BAY - Green Bay Packers safeties coach Darren Perry will pay $956 after being convicted in Brown County Circuit Court of drunken driving.

The first-time offense is an ordinance violation, not a crime. Perry was not required to appear in court Thursday to enter a plea of no contest and be sentenced.

Brown County Circuit Judge Marc Hammer imposed a $225 fine, which, with additional costs and fees, will come to $956.

Perry, 48, will lose his driving privileges for eight months, effective July 27. His lawyer, Patrick Brennan, asked for the delay, saying preparation for the start of the season is to begin, and immediate loss of his license would adversely affect Perry’s ability to work.

As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors dropped additional charges of having a prohibited blood-alcohol level and of unsafe lane deviation. Hammer also dismissed a charge that Perry had refused a breathalyzer test; Hammer said the refusal would be considered an aggravating factor in the drunken driving charge itself.

The charges stem from a Dec. 17 incident on Lineville Road in Suamico, where a Brown County sheriff's deputy stopped Perry at 12:16 a.m. Brennan said Perry had been at a staff gathering and had consumed too much alcohol and no food.

His mandatory blood test showed an alcohol level of .21 percent, Brennan said.