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Ohio State DB Marcus Hooker pleads guilty to OVI

Hooker had been suspended indefinitely from the team.
Credit: Columbus Division of Police
A screengrab from Columbus Division of Police bodycam video showing Marcus Hooker on March 13, 2021 as Hooker is charged with OVI.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State football defensive back Marcus Hooker pleaded guilty Monday to operating a vehicle under the influence, according to court records.

Hooker had previously been suspended from the team indefinitely, according to a team spokesperson.

Court records show he has to pay a $375 fine and his driver's license is suspended for a year with limited driving privileges.

On March 13, a manager at the McDonald's at West 5th Avenue and Delasmut Avenue near Grandview called 911 at around 1:45 a.m. saying a man was asleep in a car in the restaurant's drive-thru lane.

Officers responded and found Hooker, 21, unresponsive behind the wheel with his foot on the brake and the car still in drive, according to a police report.

Police said his doors were locked and windows were rolled up.

After trying multiple times to wake him up, police said they put a cruiser in front and behind Hooker's car to prevent it from moving, police bodycam video showed.

Officers then tried rocking the car to try and wake him up.

When that did not work, an officer broke the right-rear passenger window, which allowed them to unlock the doors, according to a police report and the bodycam video.

Hooker began to wake up as officers were pulling him out, police said.

According to a police report, Hooker underwent field sobriety tests but refused a breathalyzer test for blood alcohol content at the scene.

Police wrote in the report Hooker was arrested for OVI and issued a traffic summons.

Police said he was taken to his home and released from custody.

Hooker had a three-day jail sentence suspended because he completed a driver intervention program.

In 2018, Hooker was charged in Pennsylvania with driving under the influence, disregarding traffic lanes, careless driving, no rear lights and the purchase of an alcoholic beverage by a minor.

He was suspended for the season opener that year.

RELATED: Columbus police video shows officers' encounter with OSU football player Marcus Hooker that led to OVI charge

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