A Broward County judge agreed Friday with ex-Major Leaguer Jim Leyritz that a monitoring device in the former slugger’s car probably malfunctioned this week when it showed he had alcohol in his system.
Leyritz, who is awaiting trial on DUI manslaughter charges from a fatal December 2007 crash, could have been sent back to jail if Circuit Judge Marc Gold had decided otherwise.
After hearing from state prosecutor Stefanie Newman, who said the retired New York Yankee submitted urine samples that contradicted the results of the alcohol-monitoring device, Gold concluded Leyritz should not face any penalty.
“I don’t believe there’s any issue,” the judge said.
Leyritz, dressed in a charcoal gray suit and accompanied by his ex-wife and friends, declined comment after the hearing.
His attorney, David Bogenschutz, said he asked for the emergency court hearing to express his concern about the alcohol-monitoring device.
“I was assured the machine would be fail-safe,” Bogenschutz told the judge. Its readings, he pointed out, are often enough to send someone to jail.
In fact, earlier this year, Leyritz, 45, was jailed for five days after prosecutors said the monitoring device indicated he had driven after drinking on four separate occasions. Leyritz admitted to those violations.
Gold’s decision on Friday did not lift the responsibilty from Leyritz of having the monitoring device on his car, which was a condition of his pretrial release.
On Wedneday, Leyritz became visibly distraught because of the Breathalyzer device’s readings when he tried to start his vehicle, according to a police report.
Officers went to Leyritz’s Davie home that night after he made a desperate call to a friend. An officer drove Leyritz to Memorial Regional Hospital West in Pembroke Pines, where he checked himself in, complaining of stress. He was discharged Thursday.
A trial date on the DUI manslaughter charge has not been set.
Leyritz is accused of being legally drunk when he failed to heed a red light and collided with a car driven by Fredia Veitch in downtown Fort Lauderdale, killing the 30-year-old woman.
