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PROVO â A BYU football player charged with two misdemeanors related to a driving under the influence arrest pleaded guilty to an amended charge in the case Monday, according to court records.
Neil Pau'u, 24, pleaded guilty to an amended charge of impaired driving, a class B misdemeanor, during a pre-trial conference at the Provo City Justice Court. He had been charged with driving under the influence, also a class B misdemeanor, on June 17.
A second charge of interfering with signs and signals, a class C misdemeanor, was dropped as a part of the deal, records show.
Pau'u was arrested on June 8, when a BYU police officer pulled over the vehicle he was driving on BYU's campus. Pau'u, who will be a junior wide receiver this fall, was found with a blood alcohol level of .147%, according to court documents.
Pau'u, who was alone in the vehicle, admitted to the officer that he had "two jungle juice" after the officer smelled a "strong odor," according to the documents. Jungle juice is a mixture of vodka and rum with fruit, according to drizly.com.
Pau'u pleaded not guilty to the original charges, but pleaded guilty at his initial disposition Monday with a pre-agreed to amendment to drop DUI charges.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound receiver was sentenced Monday to 12 months of probation. He was also fined $1,000 and expected to serve 48 hours of work diversion, 12 of which he has been given credit for time served. The remaining 36 hours must be completed by Sept. 25, according to court documents.
If he violates those terms, he could be sentenced to up to 178 days in the Utah County Jail, records show.
Pau'u played in 13 games as a sophomore, including three starts, finishing with 216 receiving yards and one touchdown. He was listed as the No. 2 starter at "Z" receiver on the Cougarsâ preseason depth chart.
An official with the BYU athletic department told KSL.com that the university is "aware of the situation and looking into it."
