What to Know
- Retired Mets star pitcher Dwight "Doc" Gooden pleaded guilty in connection with a cocaine bust in New Jersey earlier this year
- It happened on June 7 in Holmdel after a traffic stop; two baggies containing a white powder were allegedly found with him
- He will have to complete drug rehab as part of the plea agreement; a separate DUI case in Newark is outstanding, authorities said
Retired Mets All-Star pitcher Dwight "Doc" Gooden has pleaded guilty to third-degree drug possession in connection with a cocaine bust in New Jersey in June, the Monmouth County prosecutor's office said Wednesday.
Gooden must complete a drug rehabilitation program as part of the plea agreement, authorities said.
The 54-year-old four-time All-Star, who also had a pitching stint for the Yankees, among other Major League Baseball teams, allegedly had two small green plastic bags containing a white powder when he was stopped in Holmdel June 7.
Gooden also allegedly appeared to be under the influence of drugs, the felony complaint said.
Weeks later, the former Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Award winner was separately arrested for allegedly driving under the influence after he was stopped heading the wrong way down a one-way street in Newark. Authorities said he had told cops he got lost on his way back to Piscataway, and that he was polite and cooperative with officers who pulled him over.
A spokesman for the Monmouth County prosecutor's office said Wednesday that the DUI charge is still outstanding and will be handled in municipal court.
The athletic superstar has a well-documented history of battling addiction. He ended up in rehab after a positive cocaine test in 1987, not long after the Mets clinched a World Series victory, was suspended for an entire season for failing a drug test eight years later and, in 2010, was arrested in Franklin Lakes for allegedly driving under the influence and crashing his car with his son in tow.
