Former MLB star Lenny Dykstra indicted for drugs, threats

A grand jury in New Jersey indicted former baseball star Lenny Dykstra on drug and other charges stemming from an altercation with an Uber driver in May.

The indictment handed up Tuesday charges the former Major League Baseball all-star with cocaine and methamphetamine possession, and making terroristic threats. Dykstra is scheduled to appear before a judge in Elizabeth on Oct. 22.

All three are third-degree crimes and punishable by up to five years in prison.

Dykstra claimed the driver threatened and tried to kidnap him early on the morning of May 23 after Dykstra asked to change the trip's destination. At a news conference a few weeks after the incident, Dykstra said the driver locked the car's doors and sped up, and that he was "literally in fear of my life."

The driver told a different story. He allegedly told police Dykstra held a gun to his head, though no weapon was found. Police said they found the drugs among Dykstra's possessions.

Dykstra was arrested outside police headquarters in Linden, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southwest of New York City, after the driver stopped and ran out of the car.

An attorney for Dykstra didn't immediately return a phone message Wednesday.

Dykstra played 12 seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets and was a member of the Mets' 1986 championship team.

Since retiring from baseball, Dykstra has served prison time for bankruptcy fraud, grand theft auto and money laundering, and he declared bankruptcy in 2009, claiming he owed more than $31 million and had only $50,000 in assets.