The mother of Phoenix Suns basketball player Amare Stoudemire was arrested last Saturday after a traffic infraction in Scottsdale. Carrie Mae Stoudemire was stopped around 3:30 pm for straddling two lanes and speeding. According to the police report, her eyes were watery and glassy. The officers then noticed that she was in violation of Arizona DUI law for not having an ignition interlock device in her vehicle. Stoudemire’s driver’s license indicates that she must have this device in her vehicle until October 30 of this year because of an Arizona DUI conviction.
Stoudemire claimed the SUV she was driving was a rental vehicle and she was unaware that the ignition interlock was required in all vehicles she operates. She said that she was driving to an alcohol education class, another condition of her sentence. After Stoudemire refused to perform field sobriety tests, she was arrested and placed in a squad car.
Amare arrived on the scene in a Bentley and Carrie started yelling for her son, asking him to get a lawyer. Police recognized the Suns player and asked him to leave because his presence was causing his mother to “act out”. Amare complied.
Carrie Mae Stoudemire, 54, was booked at the Scottsdale jail for speeding, a lane violation and operating a vehicle without a mandated ignition interlock. She has a history of incidents with the law, including drunk driving, drug possession and prostitution. She was sentenced to three years in prison in 2006 for aggravated DUI in Arizona involving an accident.
