TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Former baseball star Dwight Gooden was being sought by police Tuesday on a felony warrant after he allegedly drove away from an officer who stopped him on suspicion of drunken driving.
Gooden, 41, left the scene of the traffic stop early Monday after refusing to get out his 2004 BMW to take a field sobriety test, police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said.
The officer stopped Gooden's car because he was weaving in traffic near downtown Tampa, McElroy said. Gooden, a Tampa native and resident, has a history of drug abuse and is awaiting trial on a domestic violence charge.
"The officer pulls over the car and immediately notices that the driver is under the influence," she said. "He has bloodshot, glassy eyes, his speech was slurred and he has a strong odor of alcohol."
Gooden handed the officer his driver's license but refused two requests to get out of the car, McElroy said. He then drove off with the officer still holding his license.
Police chose not pursue for safety reasons, McElroy said, but went to his two known addresses to look for him. They also contacted his most recent employer, the New York Yankees, and his mother, she said.
Yankees spokesman Howard Grosswirth said Tuesday that Gooden hasn't worked for the team as a special adviser since April and officials don't know his whereabouts.
Gooden, who was out of jail on bail after a March domestic violence arrest, is wanted on felony charges of DUI and fleeing police, and a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest without violence.
"At this point he is in a lot of trouble, and the only way he can help himself is to come forward and take responsibility for his actions," McElroy said.
Gooden, the 1984 Rookie of the Year and the 1985 NL Cy Young Award winner while with the New York Mets, went 194-112 with a 3.51 ERA before retiring in 2001. He also pitched for the Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Gooden was arrested by Tampa police in 2002 on a drunken driving charge, but later pleaded guilty to reckless driving and received a year probation. He was arrested in March and charged with hitting his live-in girlfriend in the face during an argument. He was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery, and the case is pending.
A call to Peter Hobson, the attorney representing Gooden in the domestic violence case, was not immediately returned Tuesday.
During his playing days, Gooden was suspended for 60 days in 1994 for testing positive for cocaine while with the Mets. He tested positive for cocaine again while on suspension and was sidelined for the 1995 season.
Earlier this month his son, Dwight Gooden Jr., 19, was jailed for violating his probation for cocaine possession. Police said they found marijuana and bullets in the younger Gooden's vehicle parked outside a nightclub.
Gooden's disappearance is reminiscent of the 2001 disappearance of his friend and former teammate Darryl Strawberry, who was missing for four days after he walked away from a drug treatment center where he was under house arrest.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd--><!--IBF.ATTACHMENT_254753-->
Gooden, 41, left the scene of the traffic stop early Monday after refusing to get out his 2004 BMW to take a field sobriety test, police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said.
The officer stopped Gooden's car because he was weaving in traffic near downtown Tampa, McElroy said. Gooden, a Tampa native and resident, has a history of drug abuse and is awaiting trial on a domestic violence charge.
"The officer pulls over the car and immediately notices that the driver is under the influence," she said. "He has bloodshot, glassy eyes, his speech was slurred and he has a strong odor of alcohol."
Gooden handed the officer his driver's license but refused two requests to get out of the car, McElroy said. He then drove off with the officer still holding his license.
Police chose not pursue for safety reasons, McElroy said, but went to his two known addresses to look for him. They also contacted his most recent employer, the New York Yankees, and his mother, she said.
Yankees spokesman Howard Grosswirth said Tuesday that Gooden hasn't worked for the team as a special adviser since April and officials don't know his whereabouts.
Gooden, who was out of jail on bail after a March domestic violence arrest, is wanted on felony charges of DUI and fleeing police, and a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest without violence.
"At this point he is in a lot of trouble, and the only way he can help himself is to come forward and take responsibility for his actions," McElroy said.
Gooden, the 1984 Rookie of the Year and the 1985 NL Cy Young Award winner while with the New York Mets, went 194-112 with a 3.51 ERA before retiring in 2001. He also pitched for the Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Gooden was arrested by Tampa police in 2002 on a drunken driving charge, but later pleaded guilty to reckless driving and received a year probation. He was arrested in March and charged with hitting his live-in girlfriend in the face during an argument. He was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery, and the case is pending.
A call to Peter Hobson, the attorney representing Gooden in the domestic violence case, was not immediately returned Tuesday.
During his playing days, Gooden was suspended for 60 days in 1994 for testing positive for cocaine while with the Mets. He tested positive for cocaine again while on suspension and was sidelined for the 1995 season.
Earlier this month his son, Dwight Gooden Jr., 19, was jailed for violating his probation for cocaine possession. Police said they found marijuana and bullets in the younger Gooden's vehicle parked outside a nightclub.
Gooden's disappearance is reminiscent of the 2001 disappearance of his friend and former teammate Darryl Strawberry, who was missing for four days after he walked away from a drug treatment center where he was under house arrest.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd--><!--IBF.ATTACHMENT_254753-->
