Man Sentenced to 9 Months for Recklessly Driving Moped While Drunk on NSU Campus

NORFOLK, Va. — Daryl Jordan Simmons Jr., 41, was sentenced to serve nine months in jail on Thursday after he pleaded guilty to felony driving under the influence and driving on a suspended license when he drunkenly sped through the Norfolk State University campus on a moped earlier this year.

On June 10, Mr. Simmons was speeding on a moped going 57 mph in a 25-mph zone down Park Avenue when he passed an NSU Police officer conducting radar speed checks. The officer pulled Mr. Simmons over in a nearby parking lot and noticed that Mr. Simmons smelled of alcohol and had bloodshot, watery, and glassy eyes. Mr. Simmons admitted to having recently drunk alcohol but downplayed the amount, and he claimed to have diabetes. Mr. Simmons agreed to perform field sobriety tests, and during the tests he showed numerous indicators that he was intoxicated. The officer arrested Mr. Simmons, and Mr. Simmons agreed to give a breath sample, which showed that his blood-alcohol concentration was 0.14 — well above the legal limit of .08.

This was Mr. Simmons’ third DUI in the last 10 years, and his driver’s license was still revoked from his previous convictions. The officer charged Mr. Simmons with felony third-offense DUI and misdemeanor driving on a revoked license, reckless driving, and being improperly licensed to drive a motorcycle. Mr. Simmons waived his preliminary hearing in traffic court and agreed to plead guilty in Circuit Court to the first two charges in exchange for the Commonwealth dismissing the other two.

On Thursday, Mr. Simmons accepted an agreement to plead guilty to felony third-offense DUI and misdemeanor driving on a revoked license and serve nine months in jail, with another one year and nine months in custody suspended on the conditions that he be of uniform good behavior and compliant with supervised probation for three years following his release. Judge Mary Jane Hall accepted Mr. Simmons’ plea agreement and sentenced him per the agreement.

“While a moped is not a car, it is still a motor vehicle under Virginia law, and one traveling at 57 miles per hour could easily injure or kill a pedestrian or bicyclist,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Mr. Simmons should not have been operating a moped at all, let alone while drunk. He knew better, and he will now serve a sentence that reflect how dangerously he was acting.”

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Adam L. LaFon prosecuted Mr. Simmons’ case, and NSU Police Sergeant James L. Lawson led the investigation.

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