What appears a bit humorous on the surface may be big trouble for Denver Nugget guard J.R. Smith. Smith was cited by Miami police for riding a scooter without a driver’s license on Saturday. After a Miami blog posted a picture of Smith
being initially cuffed by police on South Beach, he was subsequently released,ticketed and given a date to appear in court.
This is not a case of forgetting your license or carrying an expired license. Smith doesn’t have a valid license after his was suspended in 2009 by Monmouth County, New Jersey officials when he pleaded guilty to reckless driving charges which involved a 2007 automobile crash that took the life of a passenger in the car that Smith was driving.Smith ran through a stop sign and struck another vehicle, Smith’s good friend, Andre Bell, was killed in the accident.
In June 2009, Smith was sentenced to serve 90 days in the Monmouth County jail. Smith was released after serving 24 days. His license was suspended until March of 2012. It is unclear whether Smith is still on probation in New Jersey, but typically probation lasts as long as a suspension, so Smith may have a court date in New Jersey as well.
Smith has played the last five seasons with Denver and has had his share of controversies.
Smith was heavily criticized only days after his release from jail for tweeting in a gang slang jargon style. He quickly shut down his Twitter page. Smith has opened up numerous Twitter accounts only to shut them down after posting negative comments about his teammates, opponents and the media and then facing the backlash.
Smith is a free agent this summer and is not expected back with Denver next year.
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