Devil Rays pitching coach pleads no contest to DUI

ST. PETERSBURG -- Tampa Bay Devil Rays pitching coach Jim Hickey (left) today pleaded no contest to charges of DUI and leaving the scene of an accident involving property damage in connection with a Sept. 30 accident.

Hickey, 46, of St. Cloud, had his license suspended for six months and was placed on probation, with a provision that the probation could be terminated early if Hickey met certain conditions, according to his attorney, Jack Helinger of St. Petersburg.

Those conditions included serving 50 hours of community service, attending DUI school and paying $645 in fines and court costs. Hickey already has performed the community service, attended the school and paid the fines and court costs, Helinger said. He also already has paid restitution.

Under those circumstances, Helinger said, it's not unusual for a first-time offender's probation to be terminated early once those conditions of the sentence have been met.

"This was handled exactly as anybody else would have been handled for a first-time offense," he said.

County Judge William Overton withheld an adjudication of guilt on the charge of leaving the scene of an accident, Helinger said. He expected that a separate misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest without violence would be dropped by the state. Court records show that that count was closed administratively and folded into the DUI charge last week.

Hickey was charged with running his silver pickup truck into the back of another pickup truck being driven by a Rays bat boy near Tropicana Field shortly after the team returned from its last game in Toronto. The bat boy, Matthew Felix Carlson, pulled over, but Hickey took off toward Interstate 275, police said. An undercover officer who saw the accident followed him and called to other police who pulled Hickey over.

Pulled over at Gandy Boulevard, Hickey tried to put his car in gear and drive away, police said. Officers took him from the car after he initially refused to get out. As he got out, he stumbled and fell, and then tensed his muscles and put his hands under his chest after falling down. He refused to remove his hands, but police eventually got his arms out and handcuffed him.

Hickey also refused to take a Breathalyzer or blood test, police said. That kind of refusal results in an automatic one-year suspension of a driver's license. Helinger said that issue was not addressed in court today and declined to discuss the matter further.

Hickey joined the Rays in November after being dismissed by Houston, where he was the major league pitching coach for 2 1/2 seasons after 13 years as a minor league coach.

A team representative could not be reached immediately, but the team previously has said it had not decided whether to retain Hickey. Helinger said Hickey hopes to remain with the team.

"His family and baseball has been his life, so most certainly he wants to, and we hope that will be the case," Helinger said after the hearing.

-Times staff writer

[Booking photo courtesy of St. Petersburg Police Department]

Comments

[zippy]

I thought if you didn't willingly submit to a breathalizer it was an automatic 1 year suspension? Looks like another athlete skates away with less than an average Joe would in the same circumstances. And I have nothing against Mr. Hickey, I hope he gets the help he needs.

[LP]

Hopefully the Rays management team will do the right thing in not welcoming Mr. Hickey back as their pitching coach...Not only because he crashed into the bat boy while DUI, but he is a terrible pitching coach...For the sake of keeping your loyal fans coming to the games, get rid of this guy QUICKLY!!

[JSP]

PLEASE tell me there is no chance this guy os back with the Rays next year!

Resisting arrest charge "was closed administratively and folded into the DUI charge"? The AUTOMATIC one-year suspension for refusing Breathalyzer was not addressed in court? Who prosecuted this case?

I would imagine the members of the law enforcement team who had to deal with the accident, then hit& run, car chase and attempted escape, and finally resisting arrest fiasco might feel like their time was not deemed too valuable by the DA's office.