Mets Great Dwight 'Doc' Gooden Arrested For Cocaine Possession In New Jersey
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Mets great Dwight Gooden has been arrested for possession of cocaine after being pulled over by police in New Jersey.
The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office has confirmed the 1985 Cy Young Award winner was arrested by police last month in Holmdel Township, after police pulled him over driving under the influence of drugs.
Authorities say Gooden was stopped on June 7 just before 1 a.m. for driving too slowly on a highway and failing to maintain his lane. The 54-year-old was found with "two small green zip-lock style plastic baggies containing suspected cocaine," according to the criminal complaint.
READ: Criminal Complaint Against Dwight Gooden
Gooden was charged with third-degree possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, and being under the influence while driving.
Gooden, who played for the New York Mets from 1984 to 1994 and then with the New York Yankees, was selected for four All-Star Games.
In 2017 Gooden was given a key to the city 31 years after the team's thrilling World Series win over the Boston Red Sox.
His decades-long struggle with addiction destroyed his stellar career however. The New York star infamously missed the 1986 World Series parade because he was getting high.
He was suspended from baseball for most of the 1994 season and all of 1995 after testing positive for cocaine.
Darryl Strawberry has said publicly Gooden has a cocaine problem and that he fears for his former teammate's life. Gooden has responded by saying he's fine and that his friendship with Strawberry is now over.
Gooden is scheduled to make his first court appearance July 23. He could face up to five years in prison in the latest tragic chapter of a once-legendary ballplayer.
