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Former Longhorns star running back Cedric Benson takes plea deal for lesser charge in DWI case

Benson appeared in court for a scheduled pretrial setting and pleaded no contest to obstruction of a passageway, according to the Austin-American Statesman.
Credit: Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman
Former UT running back Cedric Benson pleaded no contest to obstruction of a passageway after Travis County prosecutors dismissed a February 2017 drunken driving charge against him, court records show.

TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas — Cedric Benson, a former University of Texas running back, was found guilty on a lesser misdemeanor charge after Travis County prosecutors dismissed a Feb. 2017 drunken driving charge, according to our media partners with the Austin-American Statesman.

Court records show Benson appeared in court Wednesday for a scheduled pretrial setting and pleaded no contest to obstruction of a passageway, The Statesman reported. County Court-at-Law Judge Kim Williams accepted the plea agreement and found Benson guilty, sentencing him to two days in jail and ordering him to pay a $200 fine. 

Benson was credited for the two days he spent in jail after his arrest and will not have to return to fulfill his sentence, according to the Statesman.

Despite the lesser charge in this DWI case, this is not the first time the former Longhorn has been in trouble with the law. 

In May of 2008, LCRA officers charged Benson with boating while intoxicated at Lake Travis, KVUE reported.

Benson was also arrested in June 2008 in Downtown Austin and charged with driving while intoxicated.

Two different grand juries declined to indict Benson in either case.

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KVUE reported in 2011 that Benson was sentenced to 20 days in jail on a misdemeanor assault charge for punching someone at a bar. The sentence stemmed from an assault at Annie's West bar on West Sixth Street on May 30, 2010. According to the court affidavit, a bar employee escorted Benson to the door after he noticed Benson fighting with another person. The employee said Benson was angry and punched him on the left side of his face. He ultimately served five days of the 20-day sentence, KVUE reported in 2011.

In 2014, Benson was charged with public intoxication. Police records showed Benson was arrested following a verbal disturbance between a man and a woman in a taxi.

Benson played football for the University of Texas from 2001-2004, was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 2005, where he spent three seasons, found success in four seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, and finished his career after playing five games for the Green Bay Packers before injuring his foot.

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Benson's cleared of charges

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