LOS ANGELES – Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías pleaded no contest to one count of misdemeanor domestic battery on Wednesday.
According to court records, four other misdemeanor charges against Urías were dropped. Urias had also been facing one count of spousal battery, one count of domestic battery involving a dating relationship, one count of false imprisonment and one count of assault. All the charges stemmed from his arrest in September on suspicion of domestic violence.
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Los Angeles City Attorney's office spokesman Ivor Pine said Urías was placed on 36 months of summary probation and ordered to complete 30 days of community labor. Urías must also complete a 52-week domestic violence counseling course, pay a domestic violence fund fee, not possess any weapons, not use any force or violence, pay restitution to the victim and abide by a protective order.
Blair Berk, an attorney for Urias, didn’t immediately respond to a call and email seeking comment on the case Thursday.
Urías was placed on administrative leave indefinitely by Major League Baseball after his arrest outside BMO Stadium in Los Angeles where he attended a Major League Soccer game on Sept. 3. Police were first alerted by a citizen who reported a man and woman were in a physical altercation. Urías was arrested by Department of Public Safety officers on felony suspicion of domestic violence.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office decided in January not to file felony charges and turned the case over to the city attorney to consider misdemeanors.
According to a charge evaluation worksheet from the district attorney’s office, Urías was arguing with his wife when he “pushed (her) against a fence and pulled her by the hair or shoulders.” However, the document said, “Neither the Victim’s injuries nor the Defendant’s criminal history justify a felony filing.”
Urías became a free agent after the World Series. He spent the first eight years of his career with the Dodgers.
The leave was imposed under baseball’s joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy with the players’ association and can be the first step toward a suspension. Players are paid but cannot play while on leave. MLB's investigation is ongoing.
Even without a criminal conviction, MLB could suspend the 27-year-old left-hander if it concludes he violated the policy.
Urías was also arrested in May 2019 on suspicion of domestic battery. He was suspended 20 games by MLB, but he wasn’t prosecuted by the LA city attorney on the condition he complete a 52-week domestic violence counseling program. No player has been suspended twice under MLB’s domestic violence policy.
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