Browns' Stallworth Pleads Guilty and Gets 30 Days

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte' Stallworth, left, arrives at the Miami-Dade County courtroom...

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte' Stallworth, left, arrives at the Miami-Dade County courtroom accompanied by his lawyer Christopher Lyons, in Miami, Tuesday, June 16, 2009. Stallworth is going to serve 30 days in jail after pleading guilty in Florida to a DUI manslaughter charge. The plea deal announced Tuesday calls for the 28-year-old Stallworth to also serve 10 years probation and do 1,000 community service hours for killing a pedestrian he hit with his car. Stallworth had faced up to 15 years in prison. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

(AP)

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte' Stallworth began serving a 30-day jail sentence Tuesday for killing a pedestrian while driving drunk in Florida, a punishment made possible by his cooperation with investigators and the fervent wish by the victim's family to put the matter behind them.

Stallworth, 28, received the sentence after pleading guilty to a DUI manslaughter charge for striking and killing Mario Reyes while driving drunk March 14 in his black 2005 Bentley. The athlete also reached a confidential financial settlement with the family of the 59-year-old construction worker.

Without the plea deal, the DUI manslaughter conviction could have netted Stallworth 15 years in prison. After his release from jail, he must serve two years of house arrest and spend eight years on probation. The house arrest provisions will allow him to resume his football career, his attorney said.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league is reviewing the matter for possible disciplinary action. Stallworth could face suspension without pay for some games this year.

Leonard Little of the Rams pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter after he hit and killed a woman while driving drunk in 1998 and served an eight-game suspension, though the punishment was doled out when the league was a bit more lenient.

The Browns also said they were evaluating the situation, saying they were "very conscious of the seriousness of the charges" to which Stallworth pleaded guilty.

Stallworth's attorney, Christopher Lyons, said the financial settlement was only one factor in the plea agreement. He noted that Stallworth stopped immediately after the accident, called 911 and submitted to roadside alcohol testing despite spending most of the night drinking at a swanky Miami Beach hotel.

"He acted like a man," Lyons said. "He remained at the scene. He cooperated fully."

Stallworth told Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Dennis Murphy that he hopes to get involved in drunken driving education programs.