Hearing for Hoyt Set for Today : Pitcher to Plead Guilty to a Reduced Charge

Padre pitcher LaMarr Hoyt, who was arrested here on Feb. 18 for running a red light and for possessing less than one ounce of marijuana and a switch-blade knife, will plead guilty today to a misdemeanor charge of being a public nuisance, a city official said Thursday.

Chief Deputy City Attorney Stu Swett said Alan Geraci of his office and Hoyt’s attorney, Howard Frank, had come to this agreement earlier in the month. If Judge William Mudd accepts the plea bargain today, Hoyt will face the following sentence:

A three-year probation, in which he may violate no laws and not be found in possession of or under the influence of any drugs other than those prescribed by a licensed physician.

A $350 fine.

The switch-blade knife in question would be destroyed.

A payment of $25 to the state restitution fund.

However, if Mudd objects, he would set a trial date. Then, the maximum sentence Hoyt could face would be six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

But Swett said it is unlikely Mudd would have any objections.

Today’s hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m.

Hoyt and his attorney, Frank, were unavailable for comment Thursday.

Hoyt did comment Wednesday. He said that, although he spent 28 days in Hazelden (Minn.) Foundation rehabilitation center this spring, he is not an alcoholic. He said he was labeled that way because his father is an alcoholic and because of the two incidents--the one Feb. 18 and an earlier one Feb. 10 when he was detained at the San Ysidro border, also for possession of marijuana.

Of the Feb. 18 incident, he said: “I had two joints. And the way it seemed in the paper was that I had a bag of pot and a submachine gun in my back seat. I didn’t like that . . . “

Of the April 23 comment, when, for the first time, Hoyt said he was not an alcoholic, Padre officials said nothing. On Thursday, neither owner Joan Kroc nor team president Ballard Smith would react to his statements. Smith also declined to say whether he had spoken to Hoyt Thursday.

Hoyt said Wednesday he has not used drugs in more than two years and is no longer drinking.

“I guess the one thing that I used to do too much was relax and have a good time,” Hoyt said. “But it wasn’t necessarily always drinking or that sort of thing.”