Son of former boxing champ Leon Spinks sentenced in Vero Beach

VERO BEACH, Fla. - The son of a former heavyweight champion will serve 12 months probation for a drunk driving charge, a Circuit Court judge ruled Wednesday.

Corey Spinks, 32, of St. Charles, Mo., crashed into a parked vehicle in the Whispering Palms subdivision in southern Indian River County in April, the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office said. Spinks, son of former champ Leon Spinks, pleaded no contest to the drunk driving charge.

Besides the probation, he will also have to serve 200 hours of community service and pay a $500 fine, court costs and restitution. The State Attorney’s Office dropped a charge for leaving the scene of an accident.

Corey Spinks, who is the International Boxing Federation junior middleweight champion, has been training in Vero Beach this year to defend his title in an Aug. 7 bout in St. Louis. Local trainer Buddy McGirt spoke on his behalf in court Wednesday. He described the boxer as a “hard-working fellow” to Judge Joe Wild and said April’s accident had a serious affect on him.

In court, Corey Spinks apologized to Sharon Goodwin, owner of the Ford Explorer he struck in April. Wild ordered him to pay more than $4,000 restitution to Goodwin for the damages.

“I’m glad he apologized,” Goodwin said.

Goodwin told the Sheriff’s Office she saw Corey Spinks crash into her Ford, which was parked in the 800 block of First Street Southwest early April 10. He stepped out and asked if everyone was all right. Then, Spinks sat back into the driver’s seat of his Chevrolet and pulled away, according to the arrest affidavit. He drove about 200 yards from the crash before stopping, witnesses told deputies.

The maximum punishment the boxer could have faced was six months in jail for the offense. However, the DUI charge is Spinks’ first and he only has a couple of speeding tickets on his driving record.