From Staff Reports

Asheville City Councilman Cecil Bothwell pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated in Buncombe County District Court on Nov. 23.

Bothwell was given a 30-day suspended sentence with one year of unsupervised probation by Judge Calvin Hill. He also was ordered to pay $640 in court costs and fines — and his license was suspended for a year. However, Bothwell qualifies for a special limited driving privilege.

The plea was part of an agreement with prosecutors to drop DWI aiding and abetting charges against Leslee Reiter, Bothwell’s girlfriend who was the passenger and owner of the car he was driving, according to Henderson County District Attorney Greg Newman.

Buncombe District Attorney Ron Moore had asked Newman to handle the case because of Bothwell’s stance in a recent district attorney election.

Since the June 19 incident, the progressive two-term councilman has said, “As I noted last summer, I take full responsibility for my mistake. I’d love to see more public officials do the same.”