Greg Simmons appears ready to combat DWI charges. Here’s what we know.
The longtime San Antonio sport anchor that resigned this week after he was arrested after leaving a Northside bar last week is now readying up to defend himself against Driving While Intoxicated charges. Greg Simmons, former sports director and anchor for KSAT, hired a DWI defense attorney after refusing a breathalyzer and awaiting blood test results from his Friday, January 27, arrest.
DWI defense specialist
News broke on Monday, January 30, that Simmons hired local DWI defense attorney Louis D. Martinez from downtown law firm Price & Martinez to defend him in an upcoming arraignment on February 28, the San Antonio Express-News reported.
Court records show that Simmons was released without any special conditions like an ignition interlock device that requires a driver to breathe into the device to start the car. An email to Price & Martinez seeking comment did not receive an immediate response.
Reckless driving
A Bexar County Sheriff’s deputy pulled Simmons over on suspicion of reckless driving after he was witnessed driving down Evans Road at 20 miles per hour and drifting side-to-side before stopping in the middle of the road on January 27. Simmons was on his way home from the Northside bar The Green Lantern. Arrest records say the deputy could smell alcohol on Simmons after they pulled him over.
Simmons struggled with the field sobriety test and at one point handed the deputy a credit card instead of his driver’s license. Simmons refused a Breathalyzer test and was arrested. The deputy later obtained a warrant to draw blood from Simmons. The results of the blood alcohol test have not been disclosed.
He was charged with a DWI and was released from jail that same day on $1,000 bond.
Simmons resigns
Simmons resigned from his sports director and anchor role at KSAT 12 on Tuesday, January 31, after he had worked there for 42 years. Simmons graduated from Jefferson High School in 1974. He was instrumental in advocating for the launch of high school radio station KJEF, which played music and news for the school.
He joined KSAT in 1980 covering the Spurs and high school sports for the station. In July 2022, Simmons was inducted into the San Antonio ISD Athletic Hall of Fame for his high school sports coverage and his career.
“Free Greg Simmons”
The San Antonio community’s reactions to Simmons’ arrest have been leaning toward supporting the former anchor and applauding his resignation as accountability. Jodi Bailey Newman, owner of The Friendly Spot in Southtown, tweeted that he “shows he cares more & feels like he owes more to our community” as a “beloved sports anchor.”
Newman compared his decision to resign to Clayton Perry, the City of San Antonio councilman who was also charged with a DWI recently. Perry chose not to resign from his seat, a position that Newman pointed out as being taxpayer-funded.
Other reactions are calling on KSAT to bring Simmons back to the station, despite him appearing to have resigned on his own. Some Twitter users called his actions a mistake.
Another tweet recognizes that Simmons should have used a ride-hailing service like Uber, but still lament his resignation.
Others just went full on meme.
