Judge tells Dukes to pay wife's attorney or face jail

TAMPA -- A Hillsborough County judge threatened inactive Devil Rays player Elijah Dukes with jail time today, if he continues withholding $45,000 he agreed to pay his estranged wife's attorney.

"This gentleman will obey no court orders unless you put him in jail," said Catherine Real, the attorney for Dukes' wife NiShea Gilbert.

Hillsborough Circuit Judge J. Kevin Carey later told Dukes that if he doesn't pay Real or continues to be late with child support payments, he will issue a warrant for his arrest.

Dukes missed a $20,000 payment that was due to Real by 5 p.m. Monday, she said in court. The judge gave him until 5 p.m. Friday to pay it. Another $20,000 payment is due on Oct. 5, with the final $5,000 due Oct. 31.

Real said she plans to put the money in a trust for the court to hire an attorney ad litem for the 3- and 2-year-old children that Dukes and Gilbert share. Real said the only payment she has received has been $500 from Gilbert. She doesn't plan to on taking any fees for the case, she said, only asking for the costs associated with representing Gilbert.

"This is not fun, nor is this profitable to me. I'm taking no penny," Real told the judge, reminding him that she has filed a motion to withdraw as Gilbert's attorney.

The hourlong hearing today was set for Carey to draft a visitation schedule for Dukes to see his children. Instead, it turned into another in a series of verbal battles with attorneys for the judge's attention and few results.

At the start of the hearing, Grady Irvin, Dukes' criminal defense attorney, said Dukes had decided to waive his right to see his children for a while. He plans to head to the Dominican Republic on Oct. 10 for winter baseball and wants to focus on his career. His divorce has been distracting and stressful, he said.

"Just over the time of this whole divorce preceding thing, I've lost touch with my other kids, and that's not something I'm willing to sacrifice," Dukes told the judge. "In order for me to get back on the field, I have to get this situation behind me."

Dukes and his attorney pointed to a situation last week, when Dukes spent time with his children for the first time in weeks after a judge dropped a restraining order that kept him from seeing them. Dukes and Gilbert had agreed he could pick the children up from daycare on Sept. 19. Dukes said Gilbert gave him the okay to keep the children overnight.

Gilbert said he was to have them home by 8:30 p.m. When he didn't show up, she called him repeatedly on his cell phone. He didn't didn't return to the children until the next morning.

Dukes said he needs not to create situations for those types of misunderstandings when he has to focus on his career right now.

"I can always come back and fight later," Dukes said. "I've got to pick and choose my battles, and now is not the time."

Also during the hearing, Real told the judge she has received and reviewed medical records from the Menninger Clinic in Houston, where Dukes was treated for drug abuse and mental issues. She declined to say publicly what she found in the report. For weeks, Real has said it was a key piece to determining Dukes' mental health as he and Gilbert fight for custody of their children.

"Oh, I've got it. I've got it now," Real said. "I don't think it would be beneficial for Mr. Dukes to have that report in the public record at this time."

The judge asked Real to provide him with a copy and to file a copy in the divorce file under seal, so it cannot be read by the public.

Kevin Graham, Times staff writer