Former Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías pleads no contest to domestic battery charge
Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías pleaded no contest Wednesday to a domestic battery charge stemming from a September arrest.
Urías, 27, was placed on 36 months of summary probation and ordered to complete 30 days of community labor, Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office spokesperson Ivor Pine said Friday. Urías must also complete a 52-week domestic violence counseling course and pay a domestic violence fund fee. He may also not possess any weapons, not use any force or violence, pay restitution to the victim and abide by a protective order, Pine said.
ADVERTISING
Last month, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office charged Urías with five misdemeanors — one count of spousal battery, two counts of domestic battery involving a dating relationship, one count of false imprisonment and one count of assault — for an alleged altercation that took place outside of a Major League Soccer game at BMO Stadium.
Authorities arrested Urías on Sept. 3 on suspicion of felony domestic violence. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office declined to file felony charges in January, referring the case to the city attorney’s office for misdemeanor filing considerations.
Urías was “engaged in an argument whereby the Defendant pushed the Victim against a fence and pulled her by the hair or shoulders,” according to the county’s report. However, the county deemed that “neither the Victim’s injuries nor the Defendant’s criminal history justify a felony filing.”
On Sept. 6, Major League Baseball placed Urías on paid administrative leave. He did not play in another game for the Dodgers last season and remains a free agent as the league continues its investigation. That process is expected to accelerate once the legal portion is complete.
The league and players’ union’s joint domestic violence policy stipulates the league can still punish a player even without criminal charges. Urías served a 20-game suspension in 2019 after he was arrested and not charged on misdemeanor suspicion of domestic violence for an alleged incident at a Los Angeles mall. That policy was instituted in 2015, and no player has ever been suspended twice.
