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ST. PETER - Former Minnesota Viking Koren Robinson entered a plea Monday on a felony charge of fleeing police in connection with a 12-mile, high-speed chase in August.
In exchange for the Alford plea, authorities dismissed seven lesser charges related to drunken driving, reckless driving and driving without a license, The Free Press reported in its Tuesday editions.
Robinson also agreed not to fight the forfeiture of the BMW 760 sedan he used on Aug. 15, when he led police from St. Peter to Mankato - sometimes exceeding speeds of over 120 mph, according to police.
Robinson, who is now with Green Bay, said he didn't know he was being chased until the pursuit ended.
"I was coming back from Minneapolis, trying to get to training camp,'' Robinson said. "It was a bad decision on my part. I was trying to get back to camp grounds to avoid the fine I was going to get for being late.''
An Alford plea allows someone to acknowledge that evidence in a case could result in a jury reaching a guilty verdict, but it doesn't require a person to admit guilt.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Robinson's attorney, Joe Tamburino, said he would argue for a lesser sentence.
Tamburino also asked that a sentencing hearing be held before Feb. 28, because that's when Robinson is scheduled to begin a 90-day jail sentence in Green Bay, Wis. That jail term was ordered because the high-speed chase in Mankato violated conditions of Robinson's probation from a separate drunken-driving case in Kirkland, Wash., last year.
After he signed with Green Bay, Robinson was suspended by the National Football League for violating its substance-abuse policy.
St. Peter is about 57 miles southwest of Minneapolis, and about 10 miles north of Mankato.
In exchange for the Alford plea, authorities dismissed seven lesser charges related to drunken driving, reckless driving and driving without a license, The Free Press reported in its Tuesday editions.
Robinson also agreed not to fight the forfeiture of the BMW 760 sedan he used on Aug. 15, when he led police from St. Peter to Mankato - sometimes exceeding speeds of over 120 mph, according to police.
Robinson, who is now with Green Bay, said he didn't know he was being chased until the pursuit ended.
"I was coming back from Minneapolis, trying to get to training camp,'' Robinson said. "It was a bad decision on my part. I was trying to get back to camp grounds to avoid the fine I was going to get for being late.''
An Alford plea allows someone to acknowledge that evidence in a case could result in a jury reaching a guilty verdict, but it doesn't require a person to admit guilt.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Robinson's attorney, Joe Tamburino, said he would argue for a lesser sentence.
Tamburino also asked that a sentencing hearing be held before Feb. 28, because that's when Robinson is scheduled to begin a 90-day jail sentence in Green Bay, Wis. That jail term was ordered because the high-speed chase in Mankato violated conditions of Robinson's probation from a separate drunken-driving case in Kirkland, Wash., last year.
After he signed with Green Bay, Robinson was suspended by the National Football League for violating its substance-abuse policy.
St. Peter is about 57 miles southwest of Minneapolis, and about 10 miles north of Mankato.
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