Dwight Gooden Sentenced In Child Endangerment Case

HACKENSACK, N.J. (AP) -- Former major league baseball star Dwight Gooden has been sentenced to five years' probation after pleading guilty in New Jersey to child endangerment.

At sentencing Friday, state Superior Court Judge Donald Venezia also ordered Gooden to undergo outpatient drug treatment.

The charges stem from a March 2010 traffic accident in Franklin Lakes.

Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli said Gooden was under the influence of cocaine when his vehicle collided with another and that Gooden's then 5-year-old son was riding in the
back seat without a seat belt. No one was hurt.

The 46-year-old former pitcher for the New York Mets and New York Yankees could have faced up to three years in state prison under the plea bargain previously reached with prosecutors.

But Venezia found that Gooden, who lives in Old Tappan, met the criteria for sentencing under New Jersey's drug dependency law.
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Information from: The Record, http://www.northjersey.com