Deal would allow ex-Yankees to avoid trial
Two former New York Yankees players accused of assaulting a Fenway Park groundskeeper during a bullpen brawl last year could avoid a trial set to start today by agreeing to anger management evaluations and community service.
Karim Garcia, who was released from the Baltimore Orioles in August, and Jeff Nelson, now with the Texas Rangers, are both expected to attend the court proceedings today, where they will face assault and battery charges over a melee on Oct. 11, 2003, in the Yankees bullpen during the American League Championship Series.
Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said late yesterday that his office plans to file motions offering a deal that would allow both players to walk away from the case without pleading guilty or risking going to jail.
Under the deal, Nelson, 37, and Garcia, 28, would undergo anger management evaluations and counseling and would complete 50 hours of community service. If the conditions are met within a time limit, the assault and battery charges against the players would be dismissed.
Prosecutors said yesterday that while they think there is enough evidence to convict the pair, ''the conduct of Nelson and Garcia does not merit criminal convictions," a news release said.
Prosecutors also acknowledged for the first time that, while they have evidence that Nelson and Garcia punched groundskeeper Paul K. Williams Jr., the blows did not cause a lasting injury. Prosecutors also said they do not know who kicked or stomped on Williams with baseball cleats.
James F. Merberg, a lawyer for Nelson, declined to comment on whether he would accept or reject the prosecution's offer. Calls to Garcia's lawyer, Gerard F. Malone, went unanswered yesterday.
If they go to trial and are convicted, Nelson and Garcia each face as long as 2 years in jail, although David Procopio, spokesman for the Suffolk district attorney, said that neither player is likely to serve time if convicted. Both have clean records.
The confrontation between Nelson, Garcia, and Williams occurred during Game 3 of the 2003 ALCS. That dispute began when Nelson allegedly confronted Williams about twirling a ''rally towel" and cheering for the Red Sox inside the visitors' bullpen, where the Yankees were sitting.
Garcia, an outfielder, leapt over the bullpen wall and allegedly joined the fracas, some of which was broadcast to a national television audience.
The trial begins today in Roxbury District Court, four days after Suffolk County prosecutors dropped a counterclaim filed by Nelson against Williams, 25, of Derry, N.H.
Nelson said Williams instigated the fight after hitting and spitting on the former Yankee pitcher. Prosecutors dropped the charge Friday, saying they had insufficient evidence to find Williams guilty of assault and battery on Nelson, Procopio said.
Prosecutors interviewed a dozen civilian witnesses and police officers, as well as Nelson, and reviewed videotape of the brawl. Afterward, the district attorney's office, ''in accordance with its ethical responsibility," terminated the case, according to a news release.
In January, Conley had said prosecutors were willing to negotiate a plea agreement with the two players and Williams to avoid trial, but the negotiations broke down.
In February, Williams sued both players, saying that the brawl cost him more than $33,000 in medical bills and lost wages and also caused him to lose his sense of smell. The lawsuit is pending, said Williams's attorney, Timothy C. Kelleher III.
In the lawsuit, Williams said the fight left him with a deviated septum, broken teeth, and a neck injury.
Mac Daniel can be reached at mdaniel@globe.com.
