Former NBA star Lamar Odom expected to enter plea deal in Las Vegas DUI case

Lamar Odom arrives at the BET Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on June 26, 2022. (Richard Shotwell / Invision / AP)

LAS VEGAS — Former NBA star Lamar Odom is expected to enter a plea deal in a DUI case in Las Vegas, according to his defence attorney.

Odom, 46, was arrested Jan. 17 and later charged with driving under the influence, speeding and failure to stay in a driving lane. He pleaded not guilty in March.

Odom plans to enter a no-contest plea that will reduce his initial DUI charge to a reckless driving charge, according to his attorney, Michael Becker. Through a no-contest plea, Odom will accept the terms of the Clark County District Attorney’s Office without admitting guilt.

He was scheduled for a bench trial Tuesday in Las Vegas Justice Court, but the court hearing was continued for a plea entry later this month. He is not expected to appear in person, according to Becker.

The Clark County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately return requests for comment.

On Jan. 17, a Nevada State Police Highway Patrol trooper observed Odom speeding along a Las Vegas highway and switching lanes without a turn signal, according to the arrest report. When pulled over, Odom allegedly had bloodshot eyes and smelled of marijuana, the trooper said in the arrest report.

Odom denied drinking alcohol and told the trooper that the passenger was smoking marijuana, according to the report. The trooper found the field sobriety tests “unsatisfactory,” saying Odom failed to touch the tip of his nose with his finger and lost his balance.

Odom won championships in 2009 and 2010 with the Los Angeles Lakers. He also played for the Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks during a 14-year NBA career.

His 2013 marriage to reality TV star Khloe Kardashian was tabloid fodder, and the couple’s wedding was showcased on “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.” They divorced months later. That same year, Odom was arrested for a DUI in Los Angeles. He later pleaded no contest and received three years of probation.

In 2015, Odom made headlines after suffering a medical episode during a stay at a legal brothel in Nevada called Love Ranch. In the arrest report, Odom allegedly told the trooper that he had 12 strokes and six heart attacks and was “poisoned at the brothel in Pahrump.”

Jessica Hill, The Associated Press