GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A former East Grand Rapids High School football standout who also played in college has been sentenced to jail and probation for his third drunk driving conviction.
Kevin Lee Grady, 32, appeared for sentencing Monday in Kent County Circuit Court for operating while intoxicated – third offense.
Judge George Jay Quist sentenced Grady to 30 days in the Kent County Jail and placed him on probation for five years. Under terms of probation, Grady will participate in sobriety court.
Defense attorney Scott Pederson said Grady has been attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and has remained sober since his mid-September arrest in Grandville.
“He’s going to make it his life-long goal to be sober,’’ Pederson said. “His only encounters with the law are OUILs. I present you with a professional man who has a salaried job. He is a football coach. He was a football star at East Grand Rapids.’’
Grady was soft-spoken during sentencing Monday. He chose not to address the court, other than to say ‘yes sir’ and ‘no sir’ when asked questions by the judge. Sentencing guidelines called for a jail term between zero and six months.
Before handing down the sentence, Quist noted that a court services report about Grady was “very positive’’ and “indicates that he’s been doing well on bond, he’s not been drinking,’’ Quist said.
Grady has a lengthy history of driving offenses dating back to his college days at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
He was first ticketed for drunk driving in July of 2008 after a Wyoming police officer found him slumped behind the wheel of a GMC Yukon at the intersection of Byron Center Avenue and 44th Street SW. He was convicted in that case and placed on probation for a year. He was also suspended from the U-M Wolverines football team.
In November of 2010, Grady was arrested for second-offense drunken driving. He was convicted in that case and sentenced to jail and probation. At the time, he was playing for Chicago Slaughter of the Indoor Football League.
His third arrest came in September of 2018 at Kenowa Avenue and 44th Street SW in Grandville. A test determined that Grady had a blood alcohol level of .25 percent, which was more than three times the legal limit.
Grady was charged with operating while intoxicated – third offense. The felony is punishable by up to five years in prison. He was also charged with driving on a suspended/revoked license. State records show that Grady has not had a valid driver’s license since 2011.
He pleaded guilty in December to operating while intoxicated – third offense. In exchange for his plea, the charge of driving on a suspended/revoked license was dismissed.
Grady was a four-year varsity starter at East Grand Rapids High School, where he led the football team to consecutive Division III state football championships in 2002 and 2003.
He is considered one of the greatest high school running backs in MHSAA history and set state records that stand today.
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