WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Retired U.S. soccer goalie Hope Solo pled guilty in Forsyth County District Court after being arrested in a Walmart parking lot for impaired driving and child abuse, according to district attorney Jim R. O’Neill.
On March 31, police said Solo was arrested at the store located on Parkway Village Circle in Winston-Salem. Solo was charged with impaired driving (DWI), resisting arrest, and misdemeanor child abuse. They said her two children were in the car at the time of the incident.
According to court documents, an officer reported seeing Solo passed out in the car, with the engine running and her two young children in the car. Officers said they could smell alcohol, according to the documents. It also revealed she refused a breathalyzer.
Forsyth County Chief District Court Judge Victoria L. Roemer sentenced Solo to a term of 24 months, suspended for 24 months, according to Level 1 DWI sentencing. This means she will be on probation for 24 months, and if she fails to follow through on probation, she could receive a 24-month sentence, according to district attorney O'Neill.
Under special circumstances, Solo is placed in an active sentence for 30 days.
She was ordered to:
- Obtain a substance abuse assessment and complete all recommended treatments.
- Surrender her driver's license, and not operate a motor vehicle until properly licensed to do so.
- Pay the costs of court, a $2,500 fine, and a $600 fee for the costs of the lab results.
Solo's local attorney confirmed part of the DWI plea agreement included voluntary dismissal of the misdemeanor child abuse and resisting public officer charges.
He said she already paid her court costs, fine and lab fee and completed a 30-day in-patient treatment program at a substance abuse facility. Since those 30 days count as credit for the 30-day active sentence, she won't serve jail time for it. Her only remaining term to be in compliance with the probation is not to drive for a year (from this past Monday).
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