Mötley Crüe’s Vince Neil gets two weeks in jail in Las Vegas DUI plea

Heavy metal rocker Vince Neil will have to spend two weeks behind bars at the Las Vegas jail for a drunken driving charge the 49-year-old picked up in June, according to a plea deal worked out with authorities.

Clark County District Attorney David Roger said the Mötley Crüe frontman will do his jail time at the Clark County Detention Center, followed by two weeks of house arrest, for a total of 30 days.

Negotiations between the two sides were finalized Tuesday. Neil is represented by Las Vegas celebrity lawyer David Chesnoff, whose clients include singer Bruno Mars and socialite Paris Hilton.

Neil will plead guilty Jan. 26 in Las Vegas Justice Court to driving under the influence of alcohol.

"I have recognized that you can't drink and drive at all," Neil said in a statement released Tuesday. "I take full responsibility for my actions and will learn from this experience."

Prosecutors had sought jail time for Neil since his June arrest because of a 1984 drunken driving crash in California that resulted in a man's death.

"We felt the sentence was appropriate under the circumstances," Roger said.

He said the 30 days of confinement was above the mandatory minimum of two days for a DUI.

"While there were potential legal defenses to this charge which lead to the resolution of this case, Mr. Neil recognized that he needed to take responsibility for his actions," Chesnoff said in a written statement.

In December 1984, Neil was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and vehicular manslaughter after hitting an oncoming vehicle while returning to his house in Redondo Beach, Calif., after a trip to a liquor store.

The collision resulted in the death of Finnish drummer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley of the band Hanoi Rocks.

Neil pleaded guilty to those charges and was sentenced to 20 days in jail and ordered to pay $2.5 million in restitution.

About 11 p.m. June 27, Las Vegas police pulled over a black Lamborghini sports car Neil was driving on Desert Inn Road, near Las Vegas Boulevard.

Authorities said Neil was driving 60 mph in a 45 mph zone and was weaving between lanes when he was pulled over.

Neil told police he had three glasses of champagne and was at the Las Vegas Hilton before he was arrested, according to a police report. Neil had bloodshot eyes, smelled of alcohol, was swaying and his speech was slurred, according to the report.

Neil failed several field sobriety tests and a Breathalyzer test. According to the report, his blood-alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit.

The arrest came after Neil recently said he had stopped abusing drugs and alcohol.

Neil moved to the valley in the mid-1990s and has several businesses in Las Vegas, including restaurants, tattoo shops and a charter airline service.

Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@ reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.