Lenny Dykstra was injured while in custody, officials reveal

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Lenny Dykstra was struck by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies during a struggle after he was taken into custody last April for a series of financial crimes, officials revealed Monday during a sentencing hearing in federal court.

U.S. District Court Judge Dean D. Pregerson discussed the incident with a defense lawyer just before sentencing Dykstra to 6 1/2 months for bankruptcy fraud.

Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore said deputies ‘used force to restrain Dykstra’ when he was taken to an undisclosed hospital in Monterey Park.

‘Dykstra became agitated and assaulted a med-tech and a nurse,’ Whitmore said. ‘Deputies then used force to restrain Dykstra.’

The former New York Mets star suffered a bloody nose during the incident, but Whitmore denied reports that Dykstra’s teeth were damaged in the struggle.

Whitmore said a use-of-force report was taken and an investigation was opened. The Sheriff’s Department operates the county jail system.

Dykstra, who helped the Mets win the 1986 World Series and became a celebrity stock picker before his finances dissolved in chaos in 2009, has racked up numerous charges in recent years.

His sentencing Monday stemmed from selling numerous items from his mansion before creditors could get them. The defendant had been barred from selling property as a condition of the bankruptcy.

In addition to the sentence, the judge ordered Dykstra to pay $200,000 in restitution and to perform 500 hours of community service. The 6 1/2-month sentence was far lighter than the 30 months federal prosecutors had sought. At one point, Dykstra faced a potential sentence of up to 20 years before he agreed to a plea deal.

His fall from grace during the last two years includes a conviction for a car finance scam and separate charges of lewd conduct and assault with a deadly weapon.

According to federal prosecutors, Dykstra sold sports memorabilia and household items from his Ventura County mansion, including a $50,000 sink. Dykstra had been barred from selling the items.
Nicknamed ‘Nails’ by baseball fans for his raucous style on the diamond, the Garden Grove native turned to Bankruptcy Court in July 2009 to try to save his lavishly furnished Sherwood Country Club estate. He bought the property from hockey legend Wayne Gretzky for $18.5 million at the height of the last housing boom.

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