Dwight Gooden can avoid jail time as part of a plea deal with Monmouth County (N.J.) prosecutors following his arrest in June on suspected cocaine possession, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office said Friday.
Gooden, 54, pled guilty in court Aug. 29 to a lesser charge of third-degree possession and was told he will not have to go to jail if he completes a drug rehabilitation program, spokesman Chris Swendeman said.
The former Mets and Yankees pitcher, who has struggled with substance abuse for three decades, said in a text message to Newsday on July 12 that he was "going away for a while to try and save my life" and "this is the worst I've ever been through all my struggles."
