Lenny Dykstra formally charged with drug possession
Dykstra's lawyer said the charges against the former Phillies star “will be swiftly absolved.”
Former Phillies star Lenny Dykstra has been charged with misdemeanor possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia following a traffic stop just after midnight on New Year’s Day in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Matthew Blit, lawyer for Dykstra, said in a statement that the 62-year-old Scranton resident was not arrested or taken into custody at the scene, and was accused of being under the influence.
Blit said that “the actual driver,” whom he would not name, was taken into custody for suspicion of driving under the influence.
“Lenny Dykstra was merely a passenger in a vehicle that did not belong to him,” Blit said.
Blit said the charges against Dykstra “will be swiftly absolved.”
Thomas Mincer, another lawyer for Dykstra, said in a statement that “we firmly assert that the alleged narcotics in the vehicle did not belong to Lenny.” Dkystra “was not knowingly in possession of or under the influence of any narcotics,” the lawyer said.
Just after midnight on Jan. 1, Dykstra was a passenger in a 2015 silver GMC Sierra truck in the area of Route 507 and Robinson Road in Greene Township, Pike County, when the vehicle was stopped by the Pennsylvania State Police for a motor vehicle code violation, the state police said in a report.
“During this investigation, the passenger was found to be in possession of narcotics and narcotic related equipment/paraphernalia,” the state police report said. “Charges to be filed.”
The state police report identified Dykstra as the “arrestee,” but the court record showing the charges says Dykstra was issued a summons.
Dykstra has a preliminary hearing in Pike County scheduled for Feb. 3.
Dykstra played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball in center field, spending the first four with the Mets — including as part of the team that won the 1986 World Series — before being traded to the Phillies during the 1989 season. He retired with the Phillies in 1996.
Nicknamed the “Dude” and “Nails,” Dykstra was a celebrated member of the 1993 Phillies team that made it to the World Series, but lost to the Toronto Blue Jays.
After his baseball career, Dykstra ran afoul of the law multiple times. He spent time in prison after pleading guilty in federal court for bankruptcy fraud and pleading no contest to grand theft auto in California.