Originally published Monday, July 7, 2008 at 12:00 AM

Seahawks' Lofa Tatupu pleads guilty, sentenced to one day in jail

Seahawks linebacker Lofa Tatupu pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and was sentenced today to one day in jail and ordered to...

By José Miguel Romero

Seattle Times staff reporter

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Lofa Tatupu

Seahawks linebacker Lofa Tatupu pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and was sentenced today to one day in jail and ordered to pay fines and court costs of $1,255.

In his sentencing ruling at a pretrial hearing, Kirkland Municipal Court Judge Michael Lambo credited the Seahawks co-captain with having completed alcohol information school and attendance of a DUI victim's panel within a week of the May 10 arrest.

Tatupu originally entered a not-guilty plea to the DUI charge while the case was being investigated. He changed that plea to guilty Monday.

Tatupu, 25, issued a public apology today in a statement from his attorney, Jon Scott Fox. The statement was similar to the one Tatupu released on May 13, after the arrest in Kirkland.

"I again want to apologize to my family, teammates, the Seahawks ownership and organization, and the fans for making a poor decision and putting myself in a bad situation," Tatupu said in the statement release today. "I take seriously my role as a leader on this team and in the community, and because of that, I'm disappointed and embarrassed by the level of poor judgment I used. Thankfully, nobody was hurt. This will never happen again, and I hope through hard work on and off the field to begin earning your respect and trust again."

Fox commented in the statement as well.

"Lofa fully accepted responsibility by pleading guilty as charged. He asked for no special consideration and he received none," Fox said. "He will pay his dues and put this matter behind him. Lofa will have no further comment on the incident after today."

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