Report: Jeurys Familia arrested on domestic violence charge
New York Mets relief pitcher Jeurys Familia was arrested on a domestic violence charge Monday in Fort Lee, NJ, according to the Bergen County Record. Fort Lee Police Chief Keith Bendul was asked for more details about the alleged incident on Monday, but said only that the police were called about a dispute and responded at 2:22 a.m.
The complaint, which you can read here, details what the police found leading to Familia’s arrest. The victim’s name is completely redacted, but the report says that the police “found probable cause to believe that domestic violence had occurred.” No further details were included, except that the victim suffered a scratch to the chest and a bruise to the right cheek.
In the complaint, the individual arrested is identified as Jeurys F. Mojica. The Bergen County Record did a little research and believes that to be an additional name that Familia uses.
A Facebook page that appears to belong to Familia uses the name Jeurys Familia Mojica to identify him. The date of birth on the complaint matches the date of birth given for Familia on the Mets’ website.
The Mets are aware of the arrest and released a statement to The Record.
“The matter was brought to our attention and we are monitoring the situation,” the Mets said in a brief statement on Tuesday.
In October Familia starred in a 30-second anti-domestic violence video in which he says in Spanish that he’s “not a fan of domestic violence.” It’s part of a larger ad campaign from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence that also features New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi, John Starks of the New York Knicks, and other New York sports stars.
Major League Baseball instituted a new domestic violence policy in August 2015, which gives commissioner Rob Manfred the power to discipline players involved in domestic violence incidents. Manfred can punish players for whatever number of games he deems appropriate, regardless of whether the player was charged or arrested.
Three players have been suspended under MLB’s still-new domstic volence policy. Aroldis Chapman, closer for the Chicago Cubs, was suspended for 30 games after he allegedly choked his girlfriend and then fired a gun into a wall. Chapman was not arrested, and prosecutors declined to charge him. Jose Reyes, shortstop for the New York Mets, served a 51-game suspension after he was arrested and charged with domestic violence after allegedly assaulting his wife on Halloween 2015. (The charges were dropped when his wife refused to cooperate with the investigation.) Hector Olivera was suspended 82 games after he was arrested and charged with assault and battery in April. Olivera last pitched for the Atlanta Braves, who traded him in July to the San Diego Padres. The Padres released him in August.
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Liz Roscher is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on twitter! Follow @lizroscher
