Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — Sports radio show host Spencer David Checketts has resigned from Utah's 1280 The Zone following his arrest in a DUI case.
Checketts stepped down Saturday, said Frank Zang, vice president of communications for the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies, which runs the station.
Zang said Checketts, co-host of "The Big Show," was placed on indefinite leave Tuesday.
On Monday about 1:30 a.m., a Utah Highway Patrol trooper stopped Checketts on northbound I-15 at 7300 South after radar showed a car driving 120 mph in the 70-mph zone, according to a probable cause affidavit.
When the officer approached the passenger door, he "observed a beer can on the floorboard" and smelled "the strong odor of alcohol" as the driver rolled down the window, the affidavit states.
The officer wrote Checketts "had relaxed facial features" and showed "lack of smooth pursuit in both eyes" in a field sobriety test.
Checketts, 39, was charged by citation Saturday in Midvale Justice Court with DUI, a class B misdemeanor; having an open container, a class C misdemeanor; and a speeding infraction.
His attorney Scott Williams said the case has yet to come under prosecutors' review.
"He's presumed innocent and that process takes some time to evaluate," Williams said. "The mere fact of an arrest and a booking for a public figure is such that it puts pressure on a person’s employer. So out of respect for that, he’s resigned his position."
Checketts has two prior DUI convictions, court records show, and in 2003 pleaded guilty to alcohol or drug-related reckless driving.
Checketts declined comment.