Mets Closer Jeurys Familia Arrested On Domestic Violence Charge
FORT LEE, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Mets All-Star closer Jeurys Familia, who denounced domestic violence in a recent public service campaign, was arrested early Monday morning on a domestic violence charge.
The alleged incident took place around 2:20 a.m. at an apartment on Park Avenue in Fort Lee, police said. According to a criminal complaint, police said Familia caused "bodily injury to another" and that responding officers saw a scratch on the chest and bruise on the right cheek of the victim, whose name was redacted from court documents.
The 27-year-old pitcher was charged with simple assault. He was released on $1,500 bail and ordered to have no contact with the victim.
The apartment building is the listed address of Familia's fiancee, the mother of his toddler son, CBS2's Tony Aiello reported. But it's not clear if she was the alleged victim.
Familia is one of several New York sports figures who appear in the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence's new "#NotAFan" campaign of public service announcements.
In one PSA video, Familia says in Spanish: "I am a fan of baseball. I am a fan of the Mets. I am not a fan of domestic violence."
The complaint lists the defendant as Jeurys F. Mojica, which is the same name used on a Facebook page that appears to belong to Familia. The birthdate listed on the complaint also matches the one that appears for the pitcher on the Mets' website.
In a brief statement Tuesday, the Mets said: "The matter was brought to our attention and we are monitoring the situation."
A spokesman for Major League Baseball said its officials are aware of the arrest and are investigating.
There has been no comment from Familia's agents, the Levinson brothers of Brooklyn.
Professional leagues have increasingly been cracking down on domestic violence offenders within their sports since the NFL's explosive 2014 scandals involving Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson and Greg Hardy. Under its new policy this season, Major League Baseball's suspensions included 30 games for Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman, now with the Cubs, and 51 games for Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes, now with the Mets.
Last week, the New York Giants released kicker Josh Brown after writings surfaced in which he admitted to physically abusing his wife.
New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, who sponsored the #NotAFan campaign, said in a statement: "I am deeply disturbed by the allegations against Jeurys Familia. I will be reaching out to the Mets, and the Familia ads will be removed from the campaign."
People in Fort Lee were reserving judgment until they know more.
"I know he was on a commercial last month about this whole thing," Orlando Nieves, of Fort Lee, told CBS2. "So we'll see as we get more information."
"It's sad if it's true," one woman said. "I hope everything works out. I hope it's not true."
Familia is coming off an All-Star season with the Mets, in which he recorded an MLB-leading 51 saves. But he also gave up the game-winning home run in the Mets' wild-card game loss to the San Francisco Giants.
