Award-winning WDIV-TV investigative reporter Kevin Dietz has admitted to a charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, according to the Click on Detroit website.
Dietz, 48, has been in the Oakland County Jail since April 18. He is scheduled to be released at midnight Friday, the Free Press reported, citing jail staff.
In a statement, Dietz apologized.
"I am deeply sorry for my actions. I made a mistake for which I apologize to my family, WDIV and to the viewers. I accept full responsibility and am taking the necessary steps to deal with this matter."
Dietz is one of the station's highest profile and most aggressive reporters. His run-in with the law hits WDIV at a vulnerable time: May is sweeps month, when TV ratings are used to set advertising rates. Dietz's special reports -- from investigations into Kwame Kilpatrick to men golfing with naked women as caddies -- are always used as heavily promoted stories during sweeps. Now Dietz has become one of May's most memorable reports.
The Dietz story also put the station in a journalistic spotlight. In the past, WDIV has moved quickly to report on the legal troubles of TV personalities at rival stations. Dietz's arrest occurred more than three months ago, and he pleaded guilty April 18. The report Friday on the WDIV website was lacking most of the details in a typical drunk-driving story by a major-market news outlet.
According to the 48th District Court, Dietz was sentenced on April 18 to 30 days in jail, with credit for one day served, and ordered to pay $1,725 in fines and court costs. He was also ordered to serve 18 months of probation, which includes attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and undergoing treatment.
According to Michigan Secretary of State records, Dietz was arrested by Bloomfield Hills police on Feb. 2 for operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol level of .17 or more.
The record indicated Dietz refused a breathalyzer test, which under the state's super drunk law results in an automatic one-year driver's license suspension. According to the secretery of state, Dietz's license is suspended until May 7, 2014.
Station managment said he is taking appropriate action for his problem and will continue to play a role at WDIV.
Dietz, a native Detroiter who grew up in Bloomfield Hills, has been with WDIV since 1993.
According to his biography on the WDIV website, Dietz has won several Associated Press awards, including one for living on the streets of Traverse City during an undercover look at the struggles of the homeless population. He has won a dozen Emmys, one of which was for a story exposing an illegal abortion clinic. He has also won a regional Edward R Murrow award for his ongoing coverage of former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. His work has also been honored by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters, for a look at faulty fire trucks in the Detroit Fire Department.
He has twice been honored with the Agnes Scott Leadership Award for commitment in the fight against substance abuse.
Dietz is quoted as saying his proudest moment came when he helped clear a 13-year-old girl of murder charges by showing how the 5-year-old neighbor whom she was accused of killing suffered from seizures and actually drowned in the bathtub.
