Damon Evans | Ex-UGA athletic director pleads guilty to DUI charge

Former UGA athletic director Damon Evans pleaded guilty last week to a DUI charge.

As a first-time offender, Evans will not serve jail time for the crime, his attorney told the AJC. DUI is a misdemeanor offense in Georgia, and Evans' punishment is a typical sentence, according to state laws.

Evans, 41, was sentenced to 12 months of probation, 40 hours of community service and must pay a fine of $750, attorney Steve Weiner told the AJC. In addition, Evans was ordered to undergo an alcohol and drug evaluation and participate in a panel for the Mothers Against Drunk Driving organization.

"He has completed almost all of the requirements ahead of time," Weiner said. "It's over. This man has moved on."

Evans had been scheduled to appear in court Monday, but instead entered his plea Jan. 19. He also entered a guilty plea for a failure to maintain lane.

Evans reached an agreement to leave the university July 4, four days after he was pulled over by a Georgia state trooper in Atlanta. Evans was arrested and charged with driving drunk on the night of June 30, just five minutes before his new contract with UGA was to go into effect, paying him more than half a million dollars a year.

The arrest blindsided the Bulldogs community because as athletic director, Evans had been the face of efforts to rid the university of a "party school" reputation. Evans' video messages against drunken driving were played at UGA home football games.

Evans apologized publicly for his actions, but the police report depicting the incident was too damaging for him to retain his position.

The trooper stated in the incident report that Evans, who is married, was in the car with another woman, whose red panties were in his lap. Both Evans and the woman, Courtney Fuhrmann, were arrested.

Fuhrmann was charged with disorderly conduct. She could not be reached Wednesday night.

After resigning from his job at UGA, Evans took a marketing job in Boston, where he currently lives.

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