K-Rod to be arraigned before Oct. 7 hearing
Mets baseball pitcher Francisco Rodriguez is led into Queens Criminal Court. (Aug. 12, 2010) Credit: AP
Francisco Rodriguez will have to appear in Queens Criminal Court prior to his next scheduled hearing on Oct. 7 so that he can be arraigned on a criminal contempt charge, a spokesman for Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said Friday.
The criminal contempt charge, which comes in response to Rodriguez allegedly violating his restraining order by sending 57 text messages to his fiancee, is a Class A misdemeanor that carries a maximum one-year jail term.
Rodriguez also faces third-degree assault and second-degree harassment charges after he allegedly attacked Carlos Peña, the 53-year-old father of his fiancee, Daian Peña, in the Citi Field family room after a game Aug. 11.
A date for his arraignment on the new charge, which the spokesman said will be negotiated between prosecutors and Rodriguez's attorney Christopher Booth, has not been set yet. Booth did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
