LEX18.com - Lexington, KY

Posted: Aug 27, 2009 5:15 AM
Updated: Aug 27, 2009 5:50 PM

(Note: LEX 18 has exclusive video of Billy Gillispie's arrest. To watch, click on the video icon at the end of the title of this story.)

Former University of Kentucky basketball coach Billy Gillispie has been released from the Franklin County Detention Center on his own recognizance following his

arrest early Thursday morning in Anderson County on suspicion of DUI.

Lawrenceburg Police said Gillispie was driving a white 2009 Mercedes with Texas tags around 2:45 a.m. on US 127 when a call went in to 9-1-1 reported seeing the the car driving erratically. Gillispie was arrested and charged with DUI.

In Gillispie's arrest report, the arresting officer stated that Gillispie "had a strong fruity smell coming from his person (possibly wine) and had red glassy eyes and slow slurred speech."

The officer said he asked Gillispie if he had anything to drink, and "he stated no, he had been golfing all day."  The officer then says Gillispie refused to take a breathalizer or blood alcohol test.

A passenger in Gillispie's car, 42-year-old Charles O'Connor, was also arrested and charged with alcohol intoxication. Gillispie and O'Connor were taken to the Franklin County Detention Center.

Later Thursday morning, Gillispie was in orange jumpsuit and appeared via teleconference in his initial court appearance. Because Gillispie's driver's license was issued in Texas, it could not be revoked. But, a judge told Gillispie that he is not allowed to drive in Kentucky for the next 120 days. No bond was set, and Gillispie was released on his own recognizance.

Gillispie is scheduled to be in court on September 23 for an informal pre-trial conference, and he has a formal court appearance set for October 5.

This is not the first time Gillispie has been charged with driving under the influence. In 1999, he was arrested and charged with DUI in Oklahoma. He later pled guilty to a lesser charge.

In 2003, during Gillispie's first years as coach at the University of Texas-El Paso, he was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving after driving the wrong way down a one-way street. Those charges were later dropped.