MARTIN COUNTY – Golfing legend Tiger Woods has a change of plea hearing set for Sept. 2 at 8:30 a.m., in the Martin County Courthouse, court records show.
Woods, 50, who is represented by Douglas Duncan of Roth & Duncan of West Palm Beach, is scheduled to appear before Judge Darren Steele, according to court records.
But Duncan listed the “change of plea” venue as a “plea conference,” which requires the defendant to be present.
A “change of plea” sometimes happens when a defendant agrees to plea “no contest” and then a sentence could be imposed.
Woods, whose legal name is Eldrick Tiger Woods, initially entered a plea of “not guilty” on charges of DUI and refusal to submit to a urine test at the Martin County Jail following a rollover accident on March 27 in Jupiter Island.
Woods, who was alone in the Land Rover SUV, was not injured in the accident.
He was arrested on the DUI charge after his Land Rover SUV, traveling north at a high rate of speed, struck the rear of a trailer attached to a pickup truck which was attempting to make a right turn off the road, according to Martin County Sheriff’s Office reports.
Woods attempted to pass the truck at a high rate of speed, traveled over the double line and clipped the rear of the trailer, causing his vehicle to slide onto its side before coming to a stop, according to sheriff’s reports.
Woods, assisted by the truck driver, then climbed out through the passenger-side door, according to the arrest affidavit. Neither he nor the truck driver were injured, but there was about $5,000 in damage to the truck, according to sheriff’s reports. There were no passengers either in the Land Rover or the pickup truck.
Woods, who was wearing sunglasses at the time, was asked to remove them and investigators noticed that his eyes appeared to be bloodshot and glassy and that the pupils appeared to be “extremely dilated,” according to the arrest affidavit. Woods also was hiccoughing continuously during the questioning, according to the arrest affidavit.
Woods said that he has had seven back surgeries and over 20 operations on his leg and his ankle seizes when he walks, according to the arrest affidavit.
After performing a field sobriety test on Woods, a deputy determined that Woods’ senses were significantly impaired and that he should not be driving.
Woods was then asked to submit to an onsite breathalyzer test, to which he agreed. The results showed 0.00, Martin County John Budensiek said at a press briefing on March 27 outside Jupiter Island Town Hall.
Woods told investigators at the scene that he had not consumed any alcohol but said that he takes prescription medicine but no “illegal substances,” according to the arrest affidavit.
Woods told investigators that he was looking down at his cell phone and was trying to change the radio station at the time the accident occurred, according to the arrest affidavit. He had not noticed the truck in front of him slowing down, according to the arrest affidavit.
Woods was taken to the Martin County Jail where another breathalyzer test was administered and it registered 0.00, according to the arrest affidavit. While at the jail, Woods refused to perform a urine test.
He was then taken to the Cleveland Clinic emergency room in Port Salerno, where he was medically cleared and then was taken back to the jail.
Deputies found Hydrocodone pills – a prescription painkiller – in Woods’ pants pocket during a search at the jail, according to the arrest affidavit.
After being booked, Woods was released after 11 p.m. March 27 from the Martin County jail on $1,150 bail.