| QUOTE |
| TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Dwight Gooden will be jailed without bail until an October hearing, a judge ruled Friday, three days after the former star pitcher fled police during a DUI traffic stop. Gooden, dressed in an orange jail outfit and shackled at the wrists and ankles, looked gaunt in court as he was flanked by his mother and lawyer. He didn't speak during the brief hearing except to acknowledge the judge's questions with a ``yes, sir'' or ``no, sir.'' State Circuit Judge Nick Nazaretian approved an agreement between both sides that will allow the former All-Star to enter a secured substance-abuse treatment facility if a bed becomes available. Gooden also has a March domestic violence charge pending with the court. Gooden's attorney, Peter Hobson, would not say where the 40-year-old Tampa native had been or what he had been doing since driving away from the officer near downtown at about 2:40 a.m. Monday. The lawyer asked for privacy for Gooden and his family. Gooden appeared in court for the first time since surrendering to police Thursday. He had been missing since speeding away from an officer who stopped him on suspicion of drunken driving early Monday. Nazaretian set an Oct. 25 hearing on the latest charges, which include a felony count of fleeing police and misdemeanor charges of DUI and resisting arrest without violence. Gooden was pulled over in his 2004 BMW for driving erratically, police said. Slurring his words and smelling of alcohol, he twice refused to get out of the car for a field sobriety test and bolted while the officer was still holding his driver's license, police said. Investigators had been talking to Hobson all week about his client's surrender, but were surprised when the two turned up at a Hillsborough County jail Thursday afternoon. ``I think it's clear that he recognizes he needs help,'' said prosecutor Pam Bondi, who agreed to let Gooden try to get into treatment for ``evaluation of an alcohol and/or drug problem.'' The attorneys said it wasn't clear if or when space would become available for Gooden. These latest developments mean both Gooden and his 19-year-old son, Dwight Jr., are in jail. The younger Gooden was arrested this month for violating his probation on a cocaine possession conviction and faces additional charges after police said they found marijuana and bullets in his car parked outside a nightclub. Nazaretian commended the elder Gooden for turning himself in, saying ``if police had picked you up, we wouldn't be talking right now.'' ``That's the first sign toward getting things better in your life,'' the judge told him. ``I hope you can turn this around.'' Gooden, the 1984 Rookie of the Year and 1985 NL Cy Young Award winner while with the New York Mets, went 194-112 with a 3.51 ERA before retiring in 2001. He also pitched for the Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Gooden was arrested by Tampa police in 2002 on a drunken driving charge, but later pleaded guilty to reckless driving and received a year's probation. He was arrested in March and charged with hitting his live-in girlfriend in the face during an argument. Bondi said Gooden most likely would negotiate a plea deal on the domestic violence charge. During his playing days, Gooden was suspended for 60 days in 1994 for testing positive for cocaine while with the Mets. He tested positive for cocaine again while on suspension and was sidelined for the 1995 season. He recently worked for the Yankees as a special adviser but quit in April. |
| QUOTE |
| TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Former baseball star Dwight Gooden admitted in court Wednesday that he violated his probation by using cocaine and likely faces prison time when he is sentenced next month. Dressed in an orange jail uniform and with family members looking on, the 41-year-old former pitcher answered "yes, sir," when state Circuit Judge Anthony K. Black asked him if he had violated his probation. He will remain in jail and faces up to five years in prison after a hearing April 5. "We are seeking prison," prosecutor Pam Bondi said afterward, but it hasn't been determined how long of a sentence her office will request. Gooden admitted to a probation officer last week that he had used cocaine. He was serving three years' probation for speeding away from a police officer during a drunken driving traffic stop last year. In November he had apologized to the court when he pleaded guilty to a felony count of fleeing police, misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and obstruction and to an unrelated charge of hitting his girlfriend. As part of his probation, Gooden was ordered to stay away from alcohol, drugs and bars, and submit to a minimum of three random urine tests a week. He also spent several months in an inpatient treatment facility for alcohol and drug addiction. His attorney, Peter Hobson, declined to comment on Gooden's latest trouble. "We're just going to prepare for the hearing in two weeks," he said. Gooden's family members also left court without commenting. Gooden was the 1984 Rookie of the Year and 1985 NL Cy Young winner while with the New York Mets. He went 194-112 with a 3.51 ERA before retiring in 2001. He also pitched for the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. |