Tampabay: Strawberry misbehavior is detailed

"Darryl Strawberry is at bat in the bottom of the ninth with two strikes against him," she told the former Yankees star, sparing him prison and sending him to the Phoenix House, a substance abuse center in rural Ocala.

Strawberry, 40, is now accused of breaking the center's rules -- and thereby violating his probation -- by having sex with another resident, autographing baseball cards, exchanging baseballs for cigarettes, shaving his head and making indirect threats, according to probation documents released Wednesday. It wasn't clear whom he allegedly threatened.

A Phoenix House staffer also saw Strawberry putting in his mouth a yellow pill, which he refused to turn over. Strawberry tested negative on a drug test, though.

On another occasion, when a staffer asked Strawberry to leave a meeting for being disrespectful, Strawberry is reported to have said, "Cracker a--, kiss my a--, you're not God."

For those reasons, the center threw Strawberry out, which landed him in jail Tuesday, his 40th birthday, on the probation violation charge. He will face Judge Foster again at 8:30 a.m. on April 1.

Strawberry was arrested in April 1999 on charges of soliciting a prostitute and possession of cocaine. He got probation but violated it five times, including with a four-day drug binge in March 2001. That prompted Foster to give him a suspended 18-month prison term, provided he complete the drug treatment program.

Whether she will be as merciful this time is a question court observers are debating.

"She's definitely in a tough situation," said Robin Fuson, a former prosecutor who handled the case against Strawberry. "She's bent over backward to help him. That's the nature of the (drug court) division, to help people with addictions, knowing they're going to fail."

While that philosophy has helped a lot of people, Fuson said, the tricky part is distinguishing between those who want to help themselves and "con artists" who play the system.

"Put him in state prison -- they have a great drug rehab program there," said Fuson, now a private defense attorney. "I don't think someone else would receive this many chances."

Fuson said he supported probation for Strawberry after his original 1999 arrest. Since then, though, "he just has a history of not really caring about anything."

Strawberry's attitude seems to be, "I don't care about myself, so why should I care about anyone else?" Fuson said. "There comes a point where you have to stop trying to help people who won't help themselves, and fulfill the legislative mandate and punish people who break the law."

Strawberry's wife, Charisse, released a statement Wednesday blaming her husband's addictions for his latest troubles.

"I have three very young children who are my focus right now," she said. "Unfortunately this is part of the devastation of the disease of alcoholism and addiction."

Phoenix House offers round-the-clock drug treatment but has no confinement. Pam Bondi, spokesperson for the Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office, said Strawberry belongs in a secure facility.

"The only secure drug treatment program in our state is Florida State Prison," she said.

Strawberry remains at the Marion County Jail for now.

-- Christopher Goffard can be reached at 226-3337 or goffard@sptimes.com.

Back to Tampa Bay area news
Back

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright

Special Links

Mary Jo Melone

Howard Troxler

Headlines
From the Times
local news desks