Hoyt Sentenced to 45 Days in Prison on Drug Charges

Padre pitcher LaMarr Hoyt received a 45-day sentence in federal prison on drug charges Tuesday, despite a plea-bargain agreement last month in which he agreed to serve from 60 days to a year in jail.

Hoyt, who was arrested Oct. 28 on suspicion of importing about 500 illegal pills across the San Ysidro border into the United States--also was fined $10,050 and placed on probation for five years, with one provision being mandatory drug testing, by U.S. Magistrate Roger Curtis McKee in sentencing at U.S. District Court.

Hoyt will be out of prison before spring training begins and could pitch the entire 1987 season, pending the decision of baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth.

Ueberroth will make an announcement regarding Hoyt in about two weeks. Members of the Padre front office said they will not comment until then.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Pat Swan had asked for a four-month jail sentence for Hoyt, who was originally charged with possession of Valium tablets and propoxyphene, a pain killer. Both charges were reduced from felonies to misdemeanors as part of the plea bargain. Also, as part that agreement, Hoyt forfeited the Porsche he was driving when arrested.

Swan, who refused to comment immediately after Tuesday’s hearing, later said: “We bargained for that plea agreement, and we didn’t get what we bargained for. . . . We were thrown a curve.”

Of the lesser sentence, McKee told the Associated Press: “It has nothing to do with him being a baseball star. As far as I’m concerned, this is the appropriate punishment.”

McKee had no further comment.

Hoyt’s attorney, Howard Frank, pointed out that a judge can sentence a defendant to less time than what is agreed to in a plea bargain.

“The government’s reaction is kind of like the kid who takes his bat and ball to the ballfield, doesn’t like the way the game is played and takes his bat and ball home,” Frank said.

Swan said Tuesday’s sentence leaves him with these options: Ask McKee to reconsider, appeal the verdict, present a case to a federal grand jury and, if an indictment is returned, litigate the enforceability of the plea agreement, or live with the original sentence.

“We’ll know our plans in about a week,” Swan said.

Hoyt, who declined comment Tuesday, is scheduled to begin his jail sentence Jan. 5. He has already served two days in jail after he was arrested in October, so he actually has 43 days left. And, Frank said, he could get three or four days off for good behavior.

Also, Frank asked to McKee to allow Hoyt to serve his sentence at the federal minimum security prison at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, which is near Hoyt’s home in South Carolina.

The Bureau of Prisons, however, has the final say as to where Hoyt goes.

Besides ordering the jail term, fine and probation, McKee also called for Hoyt to:

--Refrain from using any illegal drugs during probation.

--Refrain from excessive use of alcohol.

--Agree to have his car and/or home searched by probation officers.

--Stay away from people known to be involved with drugs.

“The judge’s decision is a fair one,” Frank said. “And I can understand why he felt 45 days was appropriate. Although there were reasons why he (Hoyt) did what he did, there still was a crime committed.”

In a statement to the court Tuesday, Frank for the first time explained why Hoyt had gone across the border to obtain Valium.

Frank said Hoyt has had a sleeping problem for many years, dating back to his unhappy childhood in South Carolina. Hoyt’s parents, Frank said, were divorced when he was a year old and, although his father was granted custody, Hoyt’s mother took her child to California.

The father, who later became an alcoholic, then retrieved his son and left him with his sister.

The father became an alcoholic.

Later, when LaMarr was 18, his cousin, who also was his closest friend, was killed in a gun accident. Frank also said LaMarr was ridiculed by people in school for not having a mother or a father to go home to.

He went on to become a major league pitcher and won the Cy Young Award with the Chicago White Sox in 1983, but personal problems surfaced near the end of the 1985 season.

At the time, he had injured his pitching shoulder and began wondering about his future, Frank said. Also, his wife, Sylvia, wanted a divorce.

A doctor in South Carolina prescribed Valiums to help him sleep, but Hoyt eventually ran out.

In February, 1986, when he went to Mexico to buy more, he was caught at the border. He was also caught with marijuana cigarettes, which were also used to help him sleep, Frank said.

The Padres had Hoyt enter the Hazelden Foundation, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Minnesota. Although Hoyt spent 30 days there, Frank said, he left no better off than he was before.

“Hazelden is a fine facility and has helped a lot of people,” Frank told McKee Tuesday. “But it was probably the worst place for him. . . . When he came out, he was worse off.”

And the reason for that, Frank said, was because Hoyt needed “one-on-one” attention. Hazelden is known for its group therapy.

Meanwhile, Hoyt made it through the 1986 season, but had a poor year (8-11 with a 5.15 earned-run average). He and his wife reconciled during the year, but broke up again. His shoulder still was sore. In the days before his October arrest, Frank said, Hoyt was sleeping “a half hour to an hour a night.”

Frank admitted Tuesday that for Hoyt to go to Mexico for the Valium was “stupid and irrational.”

“This was a man in trouble,” Frank told the court. “Almost as if he was saying, ‘Here I am, come and get me, arrest me, I need help!’ There’s no way a person acting rationally could have done what he did.”

Frank said Hoyt had gone three or four days without any sleep before his arrest.

“What he did was the result of impaired judgment,” Frank said. “The man was sick, suffering from a medical illness caused by significant emotional problems. . . . This is no drug addict. Are we talking about party time drug use? No. We’re not talking about heroin or cocaine or LSD.”

When Hoyt was arrested, Frank said, he told him, “I want to know why I did this.”

So Frank sent Hoyt to Dr. Thomas Rodgers, a psychologist who specializes in criminals’ psychiatric problems. Hoyt went to Rodgers for two months, and Frank said, for the first time, revealed his sleeping problem.

“He is totally a different person now, after working with Dr. Rodgers,” Frank said. “ . . . If Mr. Hoyt had met Dr. Rodgers in February or March, we wouldn’t be standing here.”

“Well,” Rodgers said Tuesday, “our work is just beginning. We’re not done. We’ve just started a process to try to get this guy back on his feet.

“You know, I’m not adverse to him getting some time (in jail). He did wrong. But on the other hand, I hope the amount of time will not jeopardize therapy. I won’t see him for a while. I can tell you there is a momentum established in therapy, and we’ve got the momentum going right now. I’d hate to see that interfered with,” Rodgers said.

Hoyt, who is now reunited with his wife, told McKee “I’d like to apologize. . . . I let a lot of people down and I’m not proud of it. . . . I promise I’ll show you and the people in the country that I can be a productive and law-abiding citizen.”

After Swan asked for a four-month sentence, Frank said, “I can’t believe that anyone can say that this man standing here hasn’t gotten the message. He’s got the message, and he’ll have the message for the rest of his life. He’ll live with this every single day of his career. Every day he walks into a ballpark the fans won’t let him forget. To say he needs 120 days (in jail) is ridiculous.”