Former Duke men’s basketball player Michael Savarino pled guilty on Wednesday to driving while impaired, and teammate Paolo Banchero's aiding and abetting DWI charge was dismissed Thursday, as reported by The News & Observer’s Steve Wiseman.
Savarino was charged with DWI following a November traffic stop in Orange County. Charged with the least serious level of misdemeanor DWI, Savarino has completed community service and paid $300 in fines. He is currently serving 12 months of unsupervised probation, according to the N&O.
As part of the plea deal, the other charges against Savarino, who was 20 years old at the time, of driving after consuming alcohol under the age of 21 and running a stop sign were dismissed.
Banchero had his charges of aiding and abetting DWI dismissed at his court date Thursday. The recent top pick in the NBA draft received his charge following the incident, in which Savarino was driving Banchero’s Jeep while Banchero was in the back seat. According to The News & Observer, aiding and abetting charges are typically dismissed following adjudication of the connected case.
Savarino is completing his degree at Duke over the summer before transferring to New York University to continue his basketball career. Banchero is now a member of the Orlando Magic of the NBA.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include a report of the results of Banchero's court date.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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Micah Hurewitz is a Trinity senior and was previously a sports managing editor of The Chronicle's 118th volume.