49ers cornerback acquitted of DUI charge

MIAMI (AP) San Francisco 49ers cornerback Mike Rumph was acquitted of drunken driving Friday following a four-day trial.

He had faced a maximum sentence of six months in jail.

``I'm just glad the truth came out in this case,'' Rumph said. ``My family and friends all stuck with me.''

Miami Beach police said they stopped Rumph's car early July 6 after he left a South Beach nightclub. According to a breathalyzer test, his blood-alcohol level was .091 percent. The legal limit in Florida is .08 percent. He also failed field sobriety tests.

Rumph testified that he was sober, saying he had only two mixed drinks in two hours at the club, and the defense attacked the validity of the blood-alcohol tests. Defense attorney Edward O'Donnell III acknowledged that his client went through two stop signs that night but said he wasn't drunk.

``Who would stop for a stop sign at that time of night?'' O'Donnell said in his closing argument Friday

Prosecutors Andrea Ricker Wolfson and Aleksandr Boksner declined to comment on the verdict.

Rumph was a rookie for the 49ers last season and had 41 tackles and one forced fumble in 16 games. He was a key member of Miami's 2001 national championship team and was San Francisco's top draft choice.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)