Posted on 04/19/2002 10:14:53 AM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
Former baseball star Darryl Strawberry admitted violating probation Friday and said he is willing to accept the consequences even if it means prison time.
Strawberry, 40, could face up to 18 months in a Florida prison for his 1999 arrest on drug violations and charges of solicitation of prostitution. He fought previous attempts by the state to send him to prison and was sent to drug treatment instead, but he has violated his probation six times.
The latest violation involved breaking the rules of the Ocala-area drug treatment center by smoking, having sex with a female resident and trading baseballs for cigarettes.
At the brief hearing Friday, Strawberry apologized to his family and friends and to counselors at the Phoenix House treatment center.
"I am on the right road," Strawberry said. "I still have some issues that I need to work on. I need to take responsibility for my actions displayed in treatment."
Sentencing was postponed until April 29 because the judge who has been handling the case is ill.
Strawberry was on World Series championship teams with the New York Mets in 1986 and the New York Yankees in 1996 and 1999. Along with his legal problems, he has been treated for colon and stomach cancer. He has not used drugs for more than a year, his attorney said.
Defense attorney Darryl Rouson, a former drug addict who rebounded to become an anti-drug and civil rights activist, said Strawberry's decision to accept the consequences is part of the treatment process.
"He is fighting a good fight and he has other battles to fight," Rouson said. "He just wants to make amends for what he did."
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