National Football League
Report: Colts owner Jim Irsay reaches plea deal
National Football League

Report: Colts owner Jim Irsay reaches plea deal

Published Aug. 29, 2014 5:56 p.m. ET

A change of plea hearing is set for Tuesday for Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, who faces drug-related charges following a March traffic stop.

IndyStar.com was the first to report the agreement:

 “I can confirm that Mr. Irsay’s case has been set for a change of plea hearing on Tuesday, September 2nd at 11:00 a.m. in Hamilton Superior Court IV,” Andre Miksha, a spokesman for the Hamilton County prosecutor, said in an email to the Star. “I cannot provide any details of — or even verify the existence of — an agreement unless and until one would be tendered to the Court at such a hearing.”

Miksha says he cannot provide any details of any possible plea agreement "unless and until one" is filed with the court.

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Irsay was arrested near his home at about 3 a.m. on March 16 with $29,000 in cash and bottles of prescription drugs in his vehicle. Police said Irsay denied being drunk and told an officer he had taken several prescription medications during the day. A police report said the 54-year-old billionaire was so disoriented that officers made him sit on the hood of a patrol car to keep him from falling, and that he had trouble reciting the alphabet. A police report said an officer believed Irsay to be intoxicated, but not on alcohol.

Police had filed four preliminary felony counts of possession of a controlled substance, charges that each carried possible sentences of six months to three years in prison. Prosecutors took weeks before deciding to file the misdemeanor charges instead.

Less than 48 hours after his March arrest, the Colts said Irsay had entered a treatment facility. He resumed his duties with the Colts at the NFL draft in early May.

Irsay acknowledged in 2002 he had become dependent on painkillers after several years of orthopedic operations. He said then that he had overcome the problem.

Irsay became the Colts owner in 1997 after the death of his father, Robert Irsay, and a lengthy legal battle with his father's second wife.

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