Sconiers, Two Teen-Agers Arrested Moments After Robbery in Pomona

Pomona police said Tuesday that a man they arrested in a Pomona alley Monday night, moments after $150 had been taken in an armed robbery of a nearby gasoline station, is Daryl Sconiers, former California Angels first baseman.

Sconiers, 29, now with the Chicago White Sox organization, was arrested with two unidentified boys, 16 and 17, moments after the holdup on North Indian Hill Boulevard.

A customer and an employee at the station identified Sconiers, who at first gave police a false identity. He was positively identified Tuesday, according to Sgt. Gary Elofson of the Pomona Police Department.

He was jailed in lieu of $16,000 bail. Elofson said charges would be filed against Sconiers late Tuesday or today.

“But we don’t know how strong a case we’ll have on him,” he said. “His role in the robbery is somewhat cloudy. One witness puts him 25 to 50 feet away during the holdup, like a lookout. When he was arrested in the alley nearby, he was 20 to 25 feet from the two teen-agers, and he denied any involvement in the robbery or even knowing the two teen-agers.”

One of the teen-agers was also charged with possession of a gun used in the holdup and possession of cocaine for sale.

Police said that Sconiers’ residence was “a stone’s throw” from the site of the robbery.

Sconiers, a left-handed hitting first baseman who had an admitted “substance problem” while with the Angels, was once regarded as one of baseball’s most promising young hitters.

He was with the Angels from 1981 through 1985. He hit .265 in 234 games, with 15 home runs and 84 RBIs. He was with the club for all of the 1983 and ’84 seasons, playing behind Rod Carew.

Sconiers was playing for the San Jose Bees when he was signed at midseason last summer by the White Sox to a minor-league contract. Sent to Hawaii, Sconiers hit .305 in 40 games. He had been invited to the White Sox’s major league camp this spring.

In March, 1985, Sconiers was absent without an excuse for 17 days from the Angels’ spring training camp at Palm Springs. When he showed up, he announced that he had a “substance problem.”

Sconiers underwent treatment at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood and rejoined the Angels in late 1985. They released him the next December.