Berger pleads guilty to DWI, drug charge

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Brian Berger will not spend any time in jail for his DWI charges.

The New Hanover County Commissioner was back in court this morning closing the case on two arrests in the last 14 months.

"You're story has been played out in public more than, I think, any other elected official that I can ever recall," the judge told Berger. "Hopefully this is going to close one of those chapters and let you move on."

To close this chapter, Berger pleaded guilty to DWI and drug possession Monday morning.

"He was treated fairly," Berger's attorney Buddy Allard said. "He was treated like anyone else in the public who would have been facing the same situation."

The charges stem from his December arrest when police found Berger passed out in a car on Masonboro Loop Road. Investigators say Berger had four different types of pills on him, including two for which he did not have a prescription.

Berger was originally charged with felony drug possession, but that charge was reduced to a misdemeanor. The District Attorney's Office also dropped an impeding traffic charge as well as a DWI charge from December 2012.

"I think it allows him a perfect opportunity to address personal issues that will make things better for him in the future," Allard said.

But leaving the courtroom, Berger had nothing to say about his future.

The judge sentenced Berger to 48 hours community service while suspending a 120-day jail sentence. He will be on supervised probation for a year. If he completes that successfully, the judge said the drug charge will be dropped.

Berger began the day facing an arrest warrant for missing a court hearing Jan. 23. Berger, who found out about the warrant from WWAY, said that day he did not know he had a court date scheduled.