Judge Accepts the Plea Bargain by Padres’ Hoyt

With television cameras invading his usually mundane courtroom, Judge William D. Mudd announced Friday in a preliminary hearing in Municipal Court that he had accepted Padre pitcher LaMarr Hoyt’s plea bargain.

On Feb. 18, Hoyt had been arrested for running a red light and for possessing less than one ounce of marijuana and a switch-blade knife. His attorney, Howard Frank, then negotiated a settlement with Deputy City Atty. Alan Geraci, and they reached the following conclusion:

Hoyt would plead guilty to being a public nuisance and the original three charges would be dismissed.

It was up to Mudd to agree.

He did.

But Mudd noticed the television cameras, the fanfare. He said hundreds of cases come before him every day, but none that has put his name in the sports pages.

“I have never in my judicial career opened up my morning paper and seen the sports page, with my cup of coffee, and read about something I may or may not be doing on a given day,” Mudd told the court. “I suppose it’s a sign of the times.”

Mudd, as expected, sentenced Hoyt to:

- Probation for three years, although it could be terminated after two years if Hoyt stays clean.

What’s clean? Mudd said Hoyt “is not allowed the same or similar violation (as the one on Feb. 18) or any crime involving dangerous or deadly weapons or any violations of the law other than minor traffic. He is to abide by and conform to the standard short-term drug conditions of probation, which include he is not to have in his possession or on his person any drugs, narcotics or any medication other than those that are formally prescribed for him.”

- Payment of a $350 fine.

- Payment of $25 to the state’s crime victim fund.

- Destruction of Hoyt’s weapon, the switch-blade knife.

One more thing: If Hoyt violates probation, he is subject to a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

“That a disposition has been reached on his case is typical of hundreds--if not thousands--of what this court takes every day,” Mudd announced Friday. “It’s important that members of this community understand that there is no special disposition to Mr. Hoyt because of his status in this particular community. As a matter of fact, the terms (of Hoyt’s sentence) are much more severe than what normally would be imposed.”

Hoyt never showed up, but he didn’t have to.

Said Frank: “The truth is that this was a routine case handled in a routine fashion. The only difference happens to be the fact that he’s a fellow that’s known to the public because of his profession. And because of that, there’s interest in it. But, in terms of the legal system, it was all routine.”

Hoyt, last Wednesday, described the scene of Feb. 18, when he ran a light driving a 1962 Corvette:

“When they (the police) stopped me, I got out of the car . . . I was gonna say, ‘I’m sorry, I know I ran the red light, but I couldn’t stop the car.’ You know . . . No big deal. There was nobody else around. I got out of my mouth, ‘Hey . . . ,’ and that’s about it. They had their guns on me. See, they had got on the megaphone and told me to spread my legs and put my hands on the back of the car. My hands were up here (near his chest). It’s not like I put my hands in my pockets or in my clothes. They were right out in view. I was gonna say something, but they drew their guns (when his hands were at his chest level) . . . I thought they were gonna kill me.”

Now that the case is over, Hoyt’s legal troubles of the last 2 1/2 months can be put to rest. On Feb. 10, he was detained at the San Ysidro border by U.S. Customs agents for possession of marijuana and Valium tablets and Quaaludes. Hoyt denies holding the Valium or the Quaaludes. Regardless, he paid a $600 fine and was released.

Hoyt, when approached at the ballpark Friday, refused comment.