Former Met Lenny Dykstra hit with grand theft auto, drug charges

Former Mets star Lenny Dykstra was charged yesterday with grand theft auto and drug possession by prosecutors who claim he used phony information to lease a car from a dealership in California.

Dykstra, 48, is charged with 23 felonies, including grand theft auto, and two misdemeanors. He faces up to 12 years in prison.

Dykstra has not obtained a lawyer to represent him, but pledged his innocence to reporters on Monday.

"Of course I'm not guilty," Dykstra told the Daily News. "The car got stolen alright — stolen by them. I don't have it anymore. It's gone like my computer, my phone, my clothes."

In May, Dykstra was charged with more than a dozen federal counts, including bankruptcy fraud. Dykstra allegedly hid, sold or destroyed more than $400,000 worth of items from his $18.5 million mansion without permission of a bankruptcy trustee.

Dykstra filed for bankruptcy two years ago after claiming he owed more than $31 million and owning only $50,000 in assets.

(with Reuters)