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CHRIS TISCHThe former star was arrested after violating a judge's order to avoid his estranged wife.
LARGO - Former baseball star and Devil Rays coach Darren Daulton has been arrested twice in the last three months on domestic violence-related charges, most recently for disobeying a judge's order to stay away from his estranged wife.
Daulton, a former All-Star catcher with the Philadelphia Phillies, was arrested May 27 on a domestic battery charge after he admitted to Largo police that he slapped his wife. She told officers that the couple were arguing about Daulton drinking in front of the children. He slapped her face while she held their 1-year-old child, then pushed her out of the way and left the house, an arrest report states.
A judge ordered Daulton to have no contact with his wife while the case was pending. But Daulton slipped into her Largo home Sunday. His wife found him sleeping with his children inside the home. An arrest report indicates Daulton was intoxicated.
Daulton, 41, was arrested on a charge of violating the judge's no-contact order. He was released from the Pinellas County Jail the next day on his own recognizance.
Daulton said Tuesday that he had promised his children - who are 3, 2 and 1 - that he would spend time with them. He said two of them had recently been to the hospital, one with a broken toe and the other with a dislocated elbow.
"There is one thing that is the most important thing in my life, and that's my children," Daulton said.
"If having a 3-year-old and 2-year-old daughter both entering the hospital in a four-day period, if spending time with them is a crime, I'll always admit that crime," he added. "I promised them I would come see them. If that's a crime, then I will probably do it again."
The former baseball star's wife, Nicole Daulton, filed for divorce in December after seven years of marriage. In her petition, she asks a judge to grant her primary custody with Daulton having liberal and reasonable visitation rights. She also is seeking alimony and child support.
About two weeks after filing for divorce, Nicole Daulton filed for a domestic violence injunction against her husband. That has since been dismissed.
"I am filing for divorce and feel in danger," she wrote in the affidavit.
She claimed Daulton had picked her up by her jaw and thrown her to the floor, that he had thrown her against walls and ripped off her jewelry. She also claimed Daulton had a drug and alcohol problem.
Daulton has had alcohol-related run-ins with the law before.
He is on probation for a drunken-driving arrest Jan. 3 in Tampa. Police arrested him that night - his 41st birthday - after seeing him drive erratically on Westshore Boulevard. He pleaded no contest in June to charges of drunken driving, refusing to submit to a breath test and driving with a suspended license. He was sentenced to a year of probation.
Two years to the day before that arrest - on his 39th birthday - Daulton was arrested in Hernando County on a drunken driving charge after he slammed his BMW into a tree off Interstate 75. He also refused sobriety tests during that arrest.
He later pleaded guilty to a reckless driving charge and was sentenced to six months of probation. He also was arrested in Pinellas County in 1988 on a drunken driving charge. His license was suspended for a year.
In 1991, he was a passenger when teammate Lenny Dykstra wrapped his new Mercedes around two trees. Daulton suffered a broken left eye socket, a scratched left cornea and assorted bruises. Dykstra was charged with drunken driving.
Daulton was a three-time All-Star catcher during a 14-year career, nearly all with the Phillies. He finished his career by winning a World Series with the Florida Marlins in 1997 and garnering the NL Comeback Player of the Year award.
During his career, he was well-liked by fans and teammates for his fiery leadership and gritty play. The Phillies honored him during a pregame ceremony in 1998 after he retired.
He became the Rays bullpen coach in November 2000. He resigned in August 2001, citing personal reasons.
His attorney, Jay Hebert, said Daulton, who lists an address on Clearwater Beach, was poised to enter a domestic violence diversion program in regard to the original domestic battery charge. If Daulton completed the program successfully, the charge would be dismissed.
Hebert said he didn't know if Daulton's arrest Sunday would jeopardize his entry into that program.
- Chris Tisch can be reached at 445-4156 or tisch@sptimes.com