Hoyt Held for Pills at Border : Padre Pitcher Seized Again; Is Freed on a $25,000 Bond

Pitcher LaMarr Hoyt was released from jail Wednesday night on $25,000 bond, and now it’s possible that he will be released by the San Diego Padres as well.

Hoyt was arrested Tuesday night for attempting to bring about 500 pills--mostly Valium and suspected Quaaludes--across the border from Mexico at San Ysidro. Hoyt spent the night in a San Diego jail and showed up for his arraignment in federal court Wednesday afternoon in a white prison jump suit. He also sported a new beard. He talked softly and showed little emotion.

He was charged with attempting to import the Valium, an offense carrying a maximum penalty of five years in jail and a $250,000 fine. And if some of those other pills do turn out to be Quaaludes--a chemical analysis is being done--he could face a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

In addition, Pat Swan, the prosecuting attorney, told Judge Roger Curtis McKee: “There appears to be the potential of substance abuse here.” Swan asked McKee to order Hoyt to undergo random drug testing until the case is completed. McKee responded by saying that pretrial service agents would determine whether testing is necessary.

Last February, Hoyt, 31, had been detained at the same border crossing for trying to carry across 3 grams of marijuana, 79 Valium tablets and 46 Quaaludes.

A week later, he was arrested in San Diego for carrying a switch-blade and marijuana cigarettes. Eventually, he was put on three-year probation and fined $620 for both incidents after plea-bargaining had reduced all charges to simple public nuisance charges.

In late February, the Padres persuaded Hoyt to enter the Hazelden Foundation in Minneapolis, a drug-treatment center. He stayed there for 30 days and was allegedly diagnosed as having an alcohol problem. He denied it.

Before Hoyt--a former Cy Young Award winner with the Chicago White Sox who earns $1 million a year--was allowed to rejoin the team, Ballard Smith, the Padre team president, told him: “It might be OK to have this happen once, but not twice.”

The Padres got rid of Alan Wiggins in 1985 after Wiggins had used cocaine.

“I don’t know the facts,” Smith said of Hoyt’s most recent arrest. “Until I talk to his lawyer, talk to somebody from the prosecutor’s office or the police or whatever, I’d prefer not to comment.

“We have all kinds of policies on the ballclub. Obviously, I don’t know what happened in this case. As soon as I know the facts, then we’ll deal with the situation.

“I’ve been trying to get ahold of his agent (Ron Shapiro, who was unavailable for comment Wednesday). I talked to the commissioner’s office, but I’ve not talked to the commissioner. I have not talked to LaMarr yet. And I need to accomplish all those things. And then we’ll determine what is the appropriate thing to do.

“But if you’re asking me if any of our policies have changed, no, none of our policies have changed.”

Hoyt has said on many occasions that he is not an alcoholic and does not use drugs. Last February, he and his wife, Sylvia, separated, and he said the separation was the reason for his actions last year.

By season’s end, he and Sylvia were together again.

But he said and did seemingly unusual things during the season:

--Once he said: “I think the best thing would be for them to trade me. Everything has gone wrong since I got here. I think a change of scenery would do me good.”

--Before a game in New York, in which he was starting opposite Dwight Gooden, he said: “I think I might just win this game and walk away from the game. Beat Gooden and leave. Wouldn’t that be a great ending?”

Later, he said he was joking.

--A day before one of his court hearings, after he had been warned by his attorneys not to talk with reporters, he went public with the claim: “I am not an alcoholic.” His attorney in San Diego, Howard Frank, was upset about it.

Frank has told Hoyt not to talk about this latest arrest. “I begged him to please keep his mouth shut,” Frank said. “But I don’t know what he’s going to do. I can tell him to keep quiet, but that doesn’t mean he will. He promised he will.”

Hoyt was unavailable for comment Wednesday night, but according to a statement released by the court, this is what happened:

Hoyt entered the United States on foot from Mexico and tried crossing the pedestrian entry at San Ysidro. He was met by Gus Rodriguez, a U.S. Customs inspector, who questioned Hoyt about his citizenship and what he had acquired in Mexico.

Hoyt said he had spent $200 on clothes and showed them to Rodriguez. The clothes were in a bag, and Rodriguez noticed that Hoyt’s hands were shaking. Looking closer, he noticed “an abnormally large bulge” in Hoyt’s trousers. He escorted Hoyt to a secondary inspection area, told him to remove his pants and found two packages of pills. Hoyt then signed a post-arrest statement, saying he’d bought the pills in Tijuana from a taxi driver named “Javier,” who had then driven him to the border.

“I think there’s a real potential (for serious trouble),” Frank said. “It’s a very serious case. A very serious case, in my opinion. Because of what happened last year, that’s why.”

Another hearing has been set for Nov. 10.

Padre Manager Larry Bowa--one day on the job--was said to have been disappointed with Tuesday’s development. “He (Bowa) liked Hoyt a lot,” Padre General Manager Jack McKeon said.