Baseball

Former major league outfielder Jay Johnstone pleaded no contest to misdemeanor assault for a scuffle stemming from his Oct. 31 shoplifting arrest.

Johnstone, 46, entered the plea in Alhambra Municipal Court in exchange for prosecutors’ dismissal of the shoplifting charge, said Deputy District Attorney Celia Politeo. Johnstone, who played for the Dodgers from 1980-82 and again in 1985, was arrested at a Price Club store in Alhambra. Store employees accused him of shoplifting a carton of cigarettes.

According to a police report, a store security guard saw Johnstone conceal the cigarettes in his clothing and leave the store 30 minutes later without paying. Sentencing was set for Jan. 21.