There was a lot of dunking going on Monday morning, as people still defending Tony La Russa to the death were made to believe that his second DUI charged had been dropped in Arizona stemming from his February arrest.
However, it turns out there was a procedural mistake in the courts.
Initially, it seemed as though La Russa was off the hook as the NBC affiliate in Arizona reported that charges had been dismissed.
On @12News just now:
Maricopa County Attorney’s office has dropped the charges against #WhiteSox manager Tony La Russa. No reason stated.His BAC was .095, once they were finally able to test- legal limit is .08
— Kim C (@Cu_As) November 16, 2020
Hmmm, no reason given? Well, that’s because it was only part of the story. It turns out that the charged were technically dropped because the case was filed in the wrong court. La Russa is still facing a DUI charge.
A spokeswoman for the Maricopa County Attorney's Office tells me by email the apparent dismissal of charges against Tony La Russa is a "formality" because they were filed in the wrong court. They will be re-filed in a different justice court. "The charges are not being dropped."
— Jon Seidel (@SeidelContent) November 16, 2020
Just asked the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office if Tony La Russa’s DUI charge is being dropped.
They said the dismissal is a formality because it was filed in the wrong court. The MCAO will be refilling the charges in a different justice court @WGNNews
— Rick Tarsitano (@RickTarsitano) November 16, 2020
So no, Jerry Reinsdorf didn’t drop some bags of money at the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office to get his buddy out of trouble.