[host]
for a plea hearing.
Sixty-year-old Mark McNeill
has been charged with 14 counts of child neglect,
driving under the influence with a person under 18,
and resisting arrest.
Four months earlier,
McNeill was arriving for his job
as a middle school bus driver,
when one of his co-workers smelled alcohol on his breath
and reported him to his supervisor.
But not before McNeill
had picked up 40 children from the school
and begun his regular afternoon route.
It's not clear if McNeill knew about the report,
but he ignored repeated calls from dispatchers.
After dropping off several kids,
he finally stopped
when his supervisor caught up with him.
At which point, he exited the bus,
and fell to the ground,
complaining that he couldn't breathe.
No children were injured during the incident.
When police arrived
and tried to take McNeill into custody,
he did not cooperate.
-[McNeill] Hey, don't hit me! -[cop] Stop! Stop!
-[McNeill] Don't hit me! -[cop] Stop!
-You are not getting-- -[McNeill] Don't hit me!
Don't hit me! Look, he's hitting me!
-That's okay. -He's hitting me.
-[cop] Do not get in our face-- -Yeah, yeah, yeah, right!
Yeah, right!
-[McNeill] No! No! -[cop] Scoot on back.
-[McNeill] Ow! -[cop] Scoot on back.
[McNeill] Ow! You're--
[host]
And when tested, his blood alcohol level
was 0.32, four times the legal limit of 0.8.
He's agreed to plead guilty to all charges
in exchange for a sentence of one year in county jail,
avoiding any time in a state prison.
For today's hearing,
at which McNeill arrived two hours late,
the defendant appears before Judge Terrence Perkins
to officially enter his plea.
But before things get going, McNeill has something to say.
Okay
Okay.
[host]
unwilling to accept McNeill's apology,
he's not gonna approve the plea deal either.
[Perkins] Here's the problem.
So I think that you're impaired today.
-So I can't take the plea. -I'm sorry?
[Perkins] I think you're impaired.
No, I'm not.
I'm not impaired at all.
[Perkins] Okay.
[McNeill] I'm just... I'm-I'm-I'm just so sorry.
[Perkins] Okay.
We got a lab right here in the building.
Let's do this.
So I'm gonna test you.
Are you gonna come up with alcohol or substances?
-[McNeill] No. -Okay.
[Perkins] So hang on.
So let's go ahead and get you tested.
-Make sure that-- -I'm not getting tested.
[Perkins] Okay. Then what I'm gonna do, sir,
I'm gonna go ahead and take you into custody right now
because I think you are impaired.
-I'm not impaired at all. -[handcuffs crackle]
And so I'm afraid you are a danger
moving forward here.
And so what I wanna do is get you tested.
Let's get you tested
and if you're not impaired in any way,
and you certainly do appear so, sir,
but in case you're not impaired in any way,
-we'll proceed-- -[McNeill] You know, Your Honor.
That... You know, you know what, I am impaired.
Okay? Because-because this is... I've got a horse's head.
Okay. All right. Very good.
-Thank you, sir. -Thank you, Your Honor.
[host]
He was not hit with any new charges,
but his plea deal was amended.
He pled no contest to the original charges
and was sentenced to one and a half years
in a Florida prison,
plus three and a half years probation.
He also lost his job as a school bus driver
and is now prohibited from working
or volunteering with children.
[McNeill] Don't hit me! Look, he's hitting me!
He's hitting me.