NEW YORK - Tracy Morgan, a former "Saturday Night Live" regular who co-stars on NBC's "30 Rock," was arrested Tuesday in Upper Manhattan on drunken driving charges, the district attorney's office said.
The 38-year-old comedian was stopped around 4:30 a.m. while driving a Cadillac Escalade on the Henry Hudson Parkway near West 158th Street, said Edison Alban, a spokesman for District Attorney Robert Morgenthau.
Police said Morgan smelled of alcohol and later failed a breathalyzer test at a police station, Alban said.
When he was arrested, Morgan told police he had been to a club and "had some beers," Assistant District Attorney Robert Kennedy said in court.
Morgan's publicist in Los Angeles didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.
Morgan was arraigned on charges of driving while intoxicated and driving while impaired. Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Matthew F. Cooper released Morgan without requiring him to post bail, but ordered him to turn over his driver's license.
The prosecutor told the judge that he recommended a $1,000 fine, five days of community service and a DWI program. Morgan's lawyer, Sheryl Reich, told the judge they had no interest in the plea offer at this time.
The judge scheduled a Jan. 4 hearing "for a possible disposition."
Morgan didn't speak in court and he evaded reporters afterward.
Last Dec. 2, Morgan was arrested in Hollywood, Calif., on impaired driving charges after police stopped him for speeding. Authorities there said his blood-alcohol level was 0.13 percent, over the legal limit of 0.08 percent.
He pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge and was sentenced to 36 months' probation, fined $390 and ordered to attend an alcohol education program.
Morgan was a "Saturday Night Live" cast member from 1996 to 2003. He left the show to star in the short-lived "The Tracy Morgan Show."
He co-stars on "30 Rock" with Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin.
