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Trial to start today for Blue Jays players

 
Published Nov. 8, 1994|Updated Oct. 8, 2005

Of the 15 cases of battery on a law enforcement officer scheduled for court today, Todd Stottlemyre and Dave Stewart likely will be the only defendants handing out autographs in the hallway.

They are, of course, the only two Major League Baseball pitchers, the latest in a line of professional ballplayers to tangle with Tampa police officers.

Stottlemyre, 29, and Stewart, 37, both of whom play for the Toronto Blue Jays, are charged with striking two Tampa police officers in a scuffle outside an Ybor City nightclub during a birthday celebration for Stewart in February.

Police say the players had been drinking, were belligerent and even gashed one officer's face. The players' attorneys say 14 police officers was an excessive response to a dispute over a $3 cover charge and that police wouldn't have come in such force if they hadn't seen a chance to sue two wealthy athletes.

Lawyers on both sides are expected to make their opening arguments this morning in front of Circuit Judge Diana M. Allen. The trial is expected to last through the week. The two sides spent the better part of Monday selecting the six-person jury and two alternates, six men and two women.

A last-minute negotiating session almost brought the trial to a close before jury selection was completed.

Although there is substantial disagreement about which side made the initial offer, a plea deal that would have dropped all charges against Stottlemyre and reduced Stewart's charges to a single misdemeanor battery count was rejected by police involved in the case.

The deal also would have prohibited anyone from filing lawsuits afterward. And the two players would have apologized.

"I don't think that's right," Tampa police officer Scott McLean said, referring to Stottlemyre's offer. McLean, who was allegedly punched in the face by Stewart, said other such cases are not handled this way and professional athletes should not be treated differently.

"That was their offer," said Patrick Doherty, the attorney for Stottlemyre. Police and prosecutors rejected the deal, he said, because "there's money in this for them."

Stewart made $4.25-million last year, while Stottlemyre earned $2.35-million. They signed autographs Monday during court breaks.

State Attorney Harry Lee Coe, who is personally handling this case, denied that prosecutors made such an offer.

"We did not come to them with an offer today," he said, but acknowledged that it isn't entirely clear who initiated the morning's negotiating session.

Coe, handling only his second case in two years as state attorney, questioned potential jurors for an hour and a half about whether they could be impartial. Soft-spoken and occasionally repetitive, Coe seemed awkward at times. Toward the end, he simply asked the jurors if they would like to ask him questions.

At one point, a potential juror asked the difference between battery on a law enforcement officer, which is a third-degree felony, and battery on a regular citizen, which is a first-degree misdemeanor.

"The only difference is that there is a law enforcement officer involved," Coe answered.

One potential juror expressed surprise that Coe would be handling such a case. "He's the state attorney, and this is not a murder trial, a rape trial or kidnapping trial," Tom Caldwell said.

Coe later said he would be involved in any case in which there is an allegation of police brutality. "It's got nothing to do with the ballplayers. That's just a coincidence."

Early on the morning of Feb. 20, Stewart, Stottlemyre and six others were paying to get into Masquerade on Seventh Avenue. There was an argument about whether Stewart was overcharged for the group and whether he had to wear an identification bracelet.

When the police arrived blows were exchanged, although it's unclear who threw the first punches. Stewart's attorney, Ron Cacciatore, said the pitcher's throwing arm was injured in the melee.