An Akron priest whose videotaped jail tirade in April went viral has pleaded guilty to drunken driving charges.
The Rev. Ignatius Kury, 35, was sentenced Tuesday by Kent Municipal Court Judge Kevin Poland to 20 days in an Akron halfway house. Kury was also fined $525, plus $92 in court costs.
He pleaded no contest to operating a vehicle under the influence in connection with his highly publicized April 29 arrest by Brimfield Township police.
After being taken into custody, Kury was taken to the police department’s jail to await his release. His blood-alcohol content was 0.20 percent, more than 2› times the legal driving limit of 0.08 percent. The arrest was Kury’s fourth on a DUI charge since 1996.
While being held inside the small department’s holding cell, Kury was handcuffed to a cinder-block wall after police say he exposed himself to an officer. His behavior also prompted police to point a camera at his unbarred cell.
For the next 20 minutes, Kury alternately ranted, cursed, screamed, cried and made references to oral sex. Police released the video to the media, and Kury’s actions caught the attention of online viewers across the country.
Shortly after his release, Kury was removed as pastor of Holy Ghost Ukrainian Byzantine Catholic Church in South Akron and sought alcohol treatment.