GIRARD, Ohio - A Trumbull County Common Pleas judge has entered a guilty plea in connection with a recent OVI incident he was involved in.

Judge Ronald J. Rice pled guilty to OVI and an amended charge connected to a firearm in his vehicle Thursday afternoon.

He was sentenced to two years of probation on these charges. Rice's driver's license was suspended for one year and he is prohibited from owning a firearm for two years.

Additionally, Rice was given the option to enroll in a driver intervention program to avoid jail time.

During the hearing, Rice chose to address the media.

“I have accepted full responsibility for my actions that brought me here today,” Rice said. “...I will respect and I would like to thank the trooper, the prosecutor, the judge, the legal system and the court staff for treating me no better and no worse than anyone else who is charged with similar things.”

Rice made no mention of if he will continue in his position as a Trumbull County judge.

The charges stem from a rollover crash that happened Friday, July 18 on Scoville North Road in Vienna Township where Rice's Mini Cooper went off the roadway and hit two traffic signs before overturning into a ditch.

Body camera video shows Rice telling a trooper with the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSP) that he swerved his car when he saw a deer run into the roadway.

The video also shows Rice admitting to the trooper that he had a gun in the car and that he had "two drinks" before driving. When the trooper asks Rice if he would submit to a field sobriety test, the video shows him tell the trooper, "I'd be stupid to say yes."

Both the visiting judge handing down the conviction and the prosecutor called the penalties standard for a first time offender.