Mark Alesia

The Indianapolis Star

Minutes before the court closed for Memorial Day weekend, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay was charged Friday with two misdemeanor counts of impaired driving in connection with his March arrest in Carmel, Ind.

Formal charges were filed against Irsay in Hamilton Superior Court. Following his arrest, police had filed four preliminary charges of felony drug possession, but they were not included in the prosecutor's formal charges today.

Irsay is charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated and operating a vehicle with a controlled substance in the body. Prosecutors allege he had "oxycodone and/or hydrocodone" in his system when a Carmel police officer pulled him over at 11:40 p.m. ET on March 16.

An initial hearing is scheduled for June 19.

Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. Legal experts, however, say, most first-time offenders such as Irsay are not likely to be sent to prison on such charges.

Irsay released the following statement through the Colts: "We want to thank the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office for its professionalism in its investigation regarding Mr. Irsay and for devoting the necessary care and attention to determine the facts in this matter did not warrant the filing of felony charges relative to Mr. Irsay's prescription medications. Mr. Irsay will deal with the remaining misdemeanor charges through the judicial process."

Irsay, 54, was arrested near Horseferry Road and Main Street in Carmel after an officer saw him driving erratically, according to case documents obtained by The Star.

The report said Irsay was unsteady, had trouble standing and was unable to stand heel to toe. Two officers "continuously had to support Irsay in order to prevent him from falling over," the report said.

Irsay was held for several hours at the Hamilton County Jail. The preliminary drug charges were related to pills found in Irsay's vehicle for which he could not immediately provide proof of a prescription.

According to police, Carmel officers who took an inventory of Irsay's vehicle "recovered numerous prescription medication bottles containing pills." During the inventory, officers also reported finding $29,029 in cash.

Police records listed 11 pieces of evidence under the notation of "drugs/prescription," but it's unclear if that meant 11 pills or 11 different types of pills. A news release from Carmel police said they were Schedule IV prescription drugs. Those types of drugs include Xanax, Darvocet, Valium, Ativan and Ambien.

Prosecutors do not have to follow the preliminary charges used in an arrest and sometimes, as in this case, file different charges after reviewing police reports and evidence.

Irsay also faces discipline from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. The league's Personal Conduct Policy says, "It is not enough simply to avoid being found guilty of a crime. ... (Y)ou are held to a higher standard and expected to conduct yourself in a way that is responsible ..."

Washington Redskins safety Ryan Clark said this week that the NFL is being hypocritical in how it deals with players and owners. He thought Irsay should have received an immediate punishment. The Personal Conduct Policy gives the commissioner power to take action before a case is settled in the legal system.

"There would be no questions asked if this was a player," Clark said.

In the Carmel police report, the officer reported: "I asked (Irsay) if he knew why I pulled him over. Irsay advised that he was trying to find his house and gets confused with what road it is located on."

Police records list Irsay's address in the 1700 block of W. 116th St., which is about 3 1/2 miles from the scene of his arrest. However, Hamilton County property records show that in late February, Irsay bought another home, valued at more than $1 million, in the Village of West Clay. That home is less than a half mile from where he was stopped.

When the officer asked to see Irsay's driver's license, the Colts owner opened a metal briefcase that was on the passenger's seat of his SUV.

"As Irsay searched through the briefcase for his driver's license," the officer reported, "I observed prescription bottles in the briefcase next to his wallet."

Irsay's speech "was very slow and slurred and Irsay appeared to be disoriented," the report said. "I also observed that his eyes were red and watery. He also displayed poor manual dexterity."

At that time, the officer called for another patrol officer and a sergeant to come to the scene to assist with the investigation. A few minutes later, Irsay was asked to get out of his vehicle.

At one point, the officers had Irsay sit on the hood of a squad car because they were concerned he might fall.

"Mr. Irsay about fell to the ground as he was stood up from the police vehicle hood," the sergeant wrote in a supplemental report.

Irsay agreed at the scene to take a portable breath test, although the results of that test were redacted in the records obtained by The Star. Irsay denied having consumed alcohol, according to the arresting officer, who told the supervisor called to the scene that he "believed Irsay to be intoxicated on a substance other than alcohol."

The sergeant at the scene then called a "certified drug recognition expert."

The billionaire team owner was handcuffed and transported to the Hamilton County Jail. At the jail, the report said, "Irsay was offered a blood draw to which he refused." Under Indiana law, refusing to submit to such a test leads to a mandatory one-year driver's license suspension.

An on-call prosecutor was then contacted, and he obtained a warrant ordering Irsay to submit to the blood draw. A nurse at the jail took two vials of blood from Irsay at 2:40 a.m. March 17.

At the jail, Irsay declined to answer questions without his attorney present, reports said, so he was not interrogated.

After he was released from jail, Colts officials announced the popular NFL team owner had entered an unspecified out-of-state medical inpatient facility. It was not his first trip to rehab.

In 2002, Irsay admitted undergoing treatment for prescription drug abuse. That revelation came after his name was linked to a federal and local investigation involving possible prescription drug fraud by a local plastic surgeon.

Irsay never was charged, and issued a statement at the time addressing his personal situation. It said that during "long bouts of chronic pain" after operations he "became dependent on prescription pain medication."

During that investigation, a retired Indianapolis detective told The Star she had conversations with Irsay regarding possible prescription drug problems as far back as 1995. An NFL spokesman acknowledged at the time Irsay had "discussed his medical issues with commissioner (Paul) Tagliabue on several recent occasions."

Irsay has only occasionally discussed his past addiction issues.

In a 2005 interview with Star columnist Bob Kravitz, Irsay described the 2002 stint in rehab as "my greatest moment."

"When you're brushing up against a potentially fatal disease and you're able to heal yourself and move forward, that's your finest hour, not your darkest or most regrettable," Irsay said.

"The main thing is, there was a problem; I took care of it. ... Some people aren't as lucky to pull through this."

Irsay's oldest daughter, Carlie Irsay-Gordon, and other members of his leadership team temporarily took the reins of the Colts after her father returned to rehab in March.

Jim Irsay participated in Indianapolis's 2018 Super Bowl bid presentation on Tuesday. Minneapolis was awarded the game in a vote of NFL owners. New Orleans was the other finalist. Jim Irsay was also with team officials during the NFL Draft earlier this month.