Vikings' Simpson charged with two counts of DWI

Vikings wide receiver Jerome Simpson has been formally charged with two counts of DWI following his arrest early Saturday morning.

Simpson faces a gross misdemeanor of DWI third degree (refusing to submit to a chemical test) and a misdemeanor charge of DWI fourth degree (operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol).

His first appearance in Hennepin County court is scheduled for Dec. 11.

Simpson apologized to the team on Monday, although he didn't elaborate on the arrest.

The gross misdemeanor charge has a maximum sentence of one year in jail and/or a $3,000 fine. The misdemeanor has a maximum of 90 days and/or $1,000.

Simpson was arrested early Saturday after a state trooper responded to a stalled car blocking lanes on Interstate 394 out of downtown Minneapolis.

Simpson, who leads the team in receiving yards this season, was taken to the Hennepin County jail, where he refused a breath test. He was booked at 5:39 a.m. and released on $12,000 bond early in the afternoon.

When Simpson signed with the Vikings in 2012, he was dealing with the repercussions of a three-game suspension by the NFL stemming from a drug arrest and was in the first year of three years' probation ordered by a Kentucky judge. In April 2012, Simpson was sentenced in Kentucky to 15 days in jail and put on probation for three years, along with 200 hours of community service. He originally was charged there on March 1, 2012, with felony charges after marijuana was shipped to his home in Kentucky. In a plea agreement, authorities agreed that Simpson apparently wanted the marijuana for his own use, and that of his friends. Simpson's punishment stemmed from a September 2011 crime in which authorities intercepted a package containing 2.5 pounds of marijuana on its way to his house. Police later searched Simpson's home in northern Kentucky and found six more pounds of marijuana plus drug paraphernalia.