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Thursday, November 23, 2006

Duke, Alcohol, Athletics:
Another Triple Play




The son of Duke University's athletics director will not face jail time in a boating accident that injured his father.

Joseph David "J.D." Alleva, 28, pleaded guilty Tuesday in a Person County court to operating a boat in a reckless manner in exchange for having an alcohol-related charge dropped. He paid a $90 fine and $110 in court costs.

The charges stemmed from a June 23 incident on Hyco Lake in Person County when the Cobalt boat the younger Alleva was operating ran onto a rocky embankment.

The elder Alleva suffered a deep gash to his head that required 42 stitches.

After the 9 p.m. accident, J.D. Alleva swam nearly a half mile to shore for help. It was more than an hour before he called 911.

Though N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission officers reported smelling alcohol on his breath, J.D. Alleva refused a blood or breath test.

Joel Brewer, Person County district attorney, said he wouldn't have agreed to the plea deal if the charge had been a standard driving while impaired.

He said state law allows for the same punishment for operating a boat while intoxicated and operating a boat recklessly. Neither punishment prescribes jail, even considering a DWI charge J.D. Alleva was convicted of in 2001, Brewer said. J.D. Alleva was sentenced to a year's probation and ordered to undergo a substance abuse evaluation for the incident that occurred while he was a Duke baseball player.

Brewer said comparing DWI on the roads and the waterways is "like comparing apples and oranges."

"We think drinking and boating are very dangerous," Brewer said.

"But in terms of active time, the only mandatory sentences are for [standard] DWI."

Neither J.D. nor Joe Alleva could be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon.