Saginaw Valley State University suspends softball coach after impaired driving, marijuana plea deal

By Andy Hoag | The Saginaw News

February 23, 2010, 5:21PM

Saginaw Valley State University has suspended head softball coach Everett C. Roper indefinitely after the coach accepted a plea agreement on drunken driving and drug possession charges.

Roper, 43, pleaded guilty Monday to operating a motor vehicle while visibly impaired by liquor and no contest to possessing marijuana.

“As of today, Coach Roper has been suspended from his duties pending the outcome of further internal investigation,” said SVSU spokesman J.J. Boehm. “I don’t want to speculate on how long that may take. We need to make sure we exercise good judgment in proceeding for all those concerned.”

Roper continues to deny he knew of the marijuana that police say they found in his car, said his Bay City-based attorney, Adam Reddick.

Prosecutors required Roper to plead to the marijuana charge if he wanted the drunken driving charge reduced, Reddick said.

“We were confronted with what we felt was a fair offer by the prosecutor’s office,” he said. “Mr. Roper thought about it pretty extensively and thought it was in his best interest.”

Thomas Township Police Sgt. Gary Breidinger said in November that Roper was headed west on State just west of River about 11 p.m. when Roper drove into a ditch about two miles northeast of his home at 565 Plainfield in Thomas Township.

Breidinger said police found what they believed was marijuana in Roper’s vehicle and that Roper took a Breathalyzer test that indicated that he was over the state's legal limit of 0.08.

Prosecutors had charged Roper with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and possessing marijuana, two misdemeanors that carry maximum penalties of 93 days and one year in jail, respectively.

By pleading no contest to the possession charge, Roper denies any wrongdoing but accepts responsibility.

University officials chose to wait until Roper’s “day in court,” Boehm said, to enforce any discipline.

“Now that those proceedings have concluded, now we need to make sure that we’re exercising our due diligence,” he said. “But we don’t want to drag our feet. We understand the softball season is just around the corner, but at the same time, we don’t want to rush internal proceedings.”