Former ORU President Richard Roberts arrested on DUI complaint
BY ZACK STOYCOFF World Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
1/31/12 at 3:04 PM
Correction: A Tulsa World story on the arrest of Richard Roberts was unclear about his relationship with Oral Roberts University. Roberts is chairman and CEO of the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association, which moved off the ORU campus about five years ago and is not connected with the university. This story has been corrected.
Document: View the arrest and booking report here.
Former Oral Roberts University President Richard Roberts was arrested early Tuesday on complaints of driving under the influence of alcohol and speeding.
An Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper clocked Roberts' 2006 Mercedes driving 93 mph in a 65 mph zone just after midnight on the Creek Turnpike west of U.S. 169, according to his arrest report.
Roberts' blood-alcohol level was measured at .11 percent, which is above the legal limit of .08, the report says.
The trooper noticed a strong smell of alcohol after pulling Roberts over as he headed north on U.S. 169 just south of 71st Street, according to the report.
Roberts was unable to follow simple instructions in two coordination tests and was taken to the Jenks Police Department to determine his blood-alcohol level, the report says.
He was booked into the Tulsa Jail at 2:46 a.m. and was released on $1,100 bail at 5:47 a.m., records show.
Roberts, 63, the son of ORU founder Oral Roberts, resigned in 2007 after 15 years as the university’s president amid allegations that he and his family misused university and ministry resources.
The university had announced that year that it was $52 million in debt.
Roberts denied the allegations.
In a prepared statement Tuesday, the university said: "Our prayers go out to Richard and Lindsay Roberts and their entire family as they face this life challenge. May God's grace help them as they work towards healing."
Roberts did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday morning.
The ORU Board of Regents gave Roberts the honorary title of president emeritus in 2008.
ORU Director of Public Relations Jeremy Burton said the university now considers it more accurate to refer to Roberts as its former president.
President emeritus "was a title that was given by the exiting board of regents right as we were transitioning to our new board of trustees," Burton said, adding that it is "maybe incongruent to how we refer to him."
Roberts has remained chairman and CEO of the Oral Roberts Evangelical Association, which was separated from the school after his resignation.
He and his wife, Lindsay Roberts, host the nationally syndicated television program "The Place for Miracles: Your Hour of Healing," according to the association's website.
The website describes the program as an hourlong interactive broadcast in which Roberts "ministers in the power of the Holy Spirit" and prays "for those who are sick or hurting in some area of their lives."
Associated Images:
Richard Roberts was arrested on DUI and speeding complaints early Tuesday.
|
