Gillies Arrested for Cocaine Possession
UPDATED (5:30 p.m.)
Phillies prospect Tyson Gillies, who the organization acquired in the Cliff Lee trade, was arrested early Friday morning in Clearwater, Fla., on a felony charge of cocaine possession.
He is free on $2,000 bond.
The Phillies confirmed the arrest, but said, “because this is an open case, we will not comment further at this time.”
Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office public information officer Cecilia Barreda said the incident originally occurred June 11.
A patrol deputy spotted Gillies standing on the shoulder of Rt. 19., near Enterprise Blvd., in Clearwater. Gillies was waving a white shirt in the air at passing motorists.
The deputy approached Gillies and noticed he appeared intoxicated. Gillies told the deputy he was waving his shirt because he was looking for his friends, and he thought it would help them see him. He also said he was walking back to his hotel, which was the La Quinta Inn.
Gillies said he had spent several hours that evening at The Freaki Tiki Bar, which is not far from where the deputy spotted him.
The deputy asked Gillies if he had enough money to take a cab to his hotel, which is located less than a mile from the Phillies’ Spring Training facility and where most Phillies minor league players stay during Spring Training and during the season. Gillies did not have enough money, so the deputy offered him a ride.
Just after Gillies exited the cruiser at the hotel, the deputy spotted a small bag of a white powdery substance on the floorboard of the back seat, where Gillies had been sitting. The deputy confronted Gillies about the substance.
The deputy took the substance into evidence to be analyzed and identified. Gillies was told he could be charged at a later date, pending those results.
The results returned positive for cocaine Thursday. Deputies made contact with Gillies at 12:30 a.m. Friday at his hotel and arrested him for possession of a controlled substance. Gillies was brought to the Pinellas County jail. He was booked at 1:48 a.m., and released on bond at 10:52 a.m.
An arraignment could come in three to four weeks, although Gillies’ lawyer could enter a written plea of not guilty. In that case, a trial date would be set.
The Phillies acquired Gillies from the Seattle Mariners in December in the Lee trade. He opened the season with Double-A Reading, but had not played in months because of an injured left hamstring. He had played with the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Phillies in Clearwater recently on a rehab assignment.
Gillies hit .238 with two homers, six RBIs, a .286 OBP and a .333 SLG in 26 games with Reading. He played in two games with the GCL Phillies.
Gillies joined the Phillies along with Phillippe Aumont and J.C. Ramirez. Aumont went 1-6 with a 7.43 ERA in 11 starts with Double-A Reading before the Phillies demoted him to Class A Clearwater, where he is 2-3 with a 4.08 ERA in 13 appearances (seven starts). Ramirez is a combined 7-6 with a 4.65 ERA with Clearwater and Reading.
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Todd Zolecki
Well, that stinks. I thought this kid would be the CFer in a few years.
This trade gets better everyday. A coke head, a head case (Aumont, who cannot handle pressure) and now we await word on what Ramirez’s issue might be. I mean, aside from the 5.18 ERA he is posting in Reading. Does anyone think the Mariners did not know these kids had issues before sending them to us? Wow. I’d say the Phils have been punk’ed.
Jenn
http://philliesphollowers.mlblogs.com/
Stopped and arrested at 1:10 a.m. The underlying reason for the stop was probably DWB. And, this was in Florida, it probably was a possible felony because he possessed two snorts rather than one. The lesson to be learned is that if all of your paper work is in order, tell the cops to go pound sand if they want to search your car.
Maybe Gillies should call Ron Washington for some advise.
We go from the Phils being high on Tyson Gillies to Tyson Gillies being high on the Phils……..
Where does it say that Gillies was high?
pherris, Do you think Gillies was using the coke to powder his face? It’s pretty obvious he used it to get high. If you can think of another non-narcotic use for cocaine, I’d love to see what it is…
He left it on the floor of the cop car??? Hilarious! Remember kids: “Only users lose drugs!”
He wasn’t stopped while driving. He was on the side of the road acting erratically and the cop actually just took him home. He later found a packet of pwder where Gillies had been sitting. If he has a good lawyer this should be an easy out, as they never actually found it in his possession.
“Good lawyer” or not, the guy might have a behavioral problem. Teams are quick to realize when players have issues off the field, and it may have been a reason Seattle was willing to trade him.
If “behavioral problem” is a euphemism for “drug abuse” of what value is drug testing? On the other hand, if it means mental or physical problems not shown by a drug test then it is keeping with long standing baseball tradition that Seattle passed a problem on to the Phillies.
well forget all that.
i just want to say good game philles last night. keep up the good pitching.
I used the term behavioral problem because I don’t know if he does indeed have a drug problem. It was, however, unusual behavior, and I wonder if it is a pattern or an isolated incident. My gut feeling is that is a pattern.
It still begs the question, an unusual behavior signifying what? A mental problem, an alcohol problem, a drug problem? As to the first two I can see the Mariners pass him off to the Phillies. As to drugs, I don’t know with all this publicity surrounding drugs,would the Mariners attempt to slide such a player under the radar?
As a retired NJ Police Officer I can say that this sheriff’s officer better have logged the fact he searched and inspected his back seat for any contraband on his patrol log. I used to make sure all my guys practiced this at beginning of each shift. Cops are lazy sometimes,that said if the Patrolmen checked rear seats, good police work,if he didnt, his tactics will be vigourously questioned in a Court by a Decent Attorney. The idea of searching the back seats before each shift is common sense,yet its practiced only by about 1/2 the Cops I have known over my 26 Years in LE. If the Officer didnt check the seats prior tothe shift, a good attorney will state that the Drugs were in the seat prior to his client getting a ride. You would be shocked at the contraband found in back of the cruisers found prior to shifts starting andafter a person is arrested or driven somewhere. Drugs, Needles, GUNS, erotic toys.. Anyway, lets see if the officer was prudent before we convict mr Gillies in court of Fan Opinion.. Especially we now know the drugs were located in back seat of a routinely used Police Cruiser…
bailguy84 ……….Thanks for the insight. Before knowing all the facts, I was lambasted above for suggesting that there was no proof that Tyson Gillies even used drugs. Better than that, there seems to be a question as to whether or not he even possessed drugs. And to turn everything on its head, why not file charges against the cop alleging constructive possession since drugs were in a vehicle under his control?