Strawberry is spared jail term

The former baseball star is sent to a treatment program near Ocala and can avoid prison by successfully completing it.

[AP photo] Joseph Ficarrotta, left, attorney for former New York Yankees outfielder Darryl Strawberry, gestures in court Friday.

By DAVID KARP

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 18, 2001

TAMPA -- Darryl Strawberry had waited weeks for the outcome of his case, and finally the day had come.

Dressed in black, he sat in a cell with a steel toilet and graffiti on the walls. As he waited for the hearing to begin, Strawberry looked at the graffiti, then glanced at his attorney, Joseph Ficarrotta, and nodded.

He did not want to end up in a cell like this.

In the courtroom, Strawberry's family and friends gathered, avoiding eye contact with reporters. Seats filled with judges, lawyers and onlookers. CNN, MSNBC and several local television stations began live coverage.

Circuit Judge Florence Foster began reading her 12-page order. As she spoke, for nearly 20 minutes, Strawberry rocked gently on his toes. Then he heard what he had hoped to hear:

He would not be going to prison.

Foster gave the former New York Yankee a suspended 18-month prison sentence for violating probation in March by going on a four-day drug binge. It means Strawberry can avoid prison if he completes a treatment program at the Phoenix House substance abuse center near Ocala. The center, which has no bars, offers intensive, around-the-clock treatment in a rural setting.

Should he successfully complete treatment, which could be a year or more, Strawberry, 39, will be placed on probation and be required to perform 100 hours of community service by speaking to children about his life story.

As the sentence was read, Strawberry's wife sat perfectly still, tears welling in her eyes.

After so much build-up, the decision Thursday seemed final. But it doesn't necessarily mean the end.

"He'll be back," prosecutor Steve Wetter told Strawberry's probation officer after the hearing, anticipating a relapse.

Strawberry's cycle of drug addiction began when he was 13 when he started smoking marijuana and drinking beer and continued through his baseball career. During the past 12 years he has attended various drug and alcohol addiction treatment programs at four different centers.

His recent troubles began in April 1999, six months after being diagnosed with colon cancer. Tampa police arrested Strawberry for soliciting a prostitute and possession of cocaine.

He was sentenced to probation, but violated it five times, including in late March when Strawberry went on a four-day cocaine binge.

This time, it looked like Strawberry had gone too far. At a hearing two weeks ago, prosecutors compared him to a boy who had never grown up.

As Thursday approached, Foster came under intense pressure. She had spent two weeks considering what to do, touring the Phoenix House and the Department of Corrections' drug treatment center in Zephyrhills, where prosecutors wanted her to send him.

After leaving the prison, Foster made up her mind, said her husband, Robert, who is also a circuit judge.

"When you have a case of this magnitude, you live with it," Robert Foster said. "It's always in your life."

On Wednesday evening, Strawberry and his wife prayed with their pastor at St. Joseph's Hospital, where Strawberry has been staying while awaiting sentencing. Pastor Randy White said Strawberry seemed at peace.

"He (was) prepared for the outcome," said Ron Dock, who visited Strawberry daily. "He (was) ready to take responsibility."

Standing before Foster on Thursday, Strawberry said he needed help.

"I would like to say this case is not about Darryl Strawberry the baseball star," he said. "This is a case about a person who is very sick and has been very sick for a very long time, and needs a great deal of help and has been under a tremendous amount of pressure."

After he spoke, Judge Foster issued a warning, as she did last year when he violated his probation.

"Darryl Strawberry is at bat in the bottom of the ninth with two strikes against him," she said. "He has proved he is a winner on the field. Now he must prove he is a winner off the field."

But in her ruling, Foster essentially said Strawberry needed treatment more than punishment. She asked, "would the gravity of the harm (of prison) be out of proportion to the gravity of the fault?

"Is the defendant curable? Is the defendant amenable to treatment?" Foster asked.

She answered yes to every question.

After court adjourned, the debate about Strawberry's sentence began immediately outside the courthouse. Reporters swarmed around Foster as she walked to her car, asking if she feared criticism.

"I don't do things based on what people say," Foster said.

She said she hopes her decision helps Strawberry.

"Now everything is up to him," she said.

Nearby, Ficarrotta praised Foster for making an unpopular ruling. "Judge Foster is a very compassionate judge,' he said. "She made a heck of a stand."

Strawberry, he said, realized what she had done. He was in tears after court, when he spoke to his wife for a moment alone.

"The judge gave him a big opportunity," Ficarrotta said, "but one that he truly deserves."

The sentence

Circuit Judge Florence Foster ordered Darryl Strawberry to complete a drug treatment program at Phoenix House near Ocala. The program can take from a year to 18 months to complete. If he finishes the program, he'll be placed on probation for another year. While on probation, he'll be subjected to semi-monthly drug tests and be required to attend weekly treatment meetings. He'll also have to do 100 hours of community service by speaking to children about his life. If he violates the conditions of his treatment or probation, he'll be sent back before a judge and face a maximum of 18 months in prison.

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