- Baseball Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett was charged Friday with dragging a woman into a restaurant bathroom last month and grabbing her breast.
The woman had bruises, and her ankle was swollen from hitting a door frame, according to the criminal complaint, which cited several witnesses.
The former Minnesota Twins star was charged with a felony count of false imprisonment and a gross misdemeanor count of criminal sexual conduct.
If convicted, Puckett probably would be put on probation and given less than a year in the county workhouse, according to County Attorney Amy Klobuchar. She said it's unlikely he would be sentenced to the legal maximum of four years in prison and $8,000 in fines.
Puckett's attorney, former federal prosecutor B. Todd Jones, and Twins spokesman Dave St. Peter did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.
Puckett was not expected to be at Friday's later hearing, where prosecutors were going to seek bail of $20,000. He was expected to be booked formally Monday and his first court appearance probably will be in two or three weeks.
Puckett, an outfielder, retired in 1995 after 12 seasons with the Twins, a team he helped win the World Series in 1987 and 1991. He joined the Hall of Fame last year.
"Like most Minnesotans, I remember watching Mr. Puckett help the Twins win two World Series, and he's a great Hall of Fame baseball player. But that night, in that bar, he was no one's hero," Klobuchar said.
Puckett's wife, Tonya, filed for divorce in February, about two months after she told police he threatened to kill her during an argument. He denied making such a threat, and prosecutors didn't charge him. The Pucketts reached a tentative settlement this month.
I obviously can't speak directly to the merits of this case, but it certainly appears that Kirby has been having personal problems, perhaps with adjusting to life after baseball. I'm not sure how I would handle having my Hall of Fame carreer cut short by glaucoma, without which he might still be playing.
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