Bengals DE Shirley sentenced to 30 days

Nov 12, 2008 - 4:04 PM FRESNO, California (Ticker) -- Cincinnati Bengals rookie defensive end Jason Shirley on Monday was sentenced to 30 days in an adult offender work program after a jury found him guilty of drunken driving and hit-and-run.

The conviction stemmed from an incident in October 2007, when Shirley was at Fresno State, according to the Fresno Bee.

The Bengals released a statement Tuesday regarding the incident.

"The club is aware that the vehicular charges against Jason Shirley stemming from his college career have been resolved against him," the statement said. "He will likely complete the legal obligations required by the court during the offseason, and the club expects that he will do what he needs to do to put this incident behind him and contribute to the football team."

According to police reports, Shirley had a blood-alcohol level of 0.12 - slightly above the legal driving limit of 0.08 - when he crashed into a Fresno apartment and fled the scene.

It was the second time Shirley was tried in connection with the incident. The first time ended in a mistrial after jurors failed to reach a verdict.

The Bengals have had a troubling history of off-field incidents. Nine members of the team were arrested during a nine-month stretch in 2006.