Former National Elijah Dukes Arrested Again

Most of us likely remember Elijah Dukes. The former highly touted outfielder was first acquired by the Nationals following a 2007 season in which he made his MLB Debut with Tampa Bay. Over the next two seasons he’d bat .256/.359/.430 in 750 plate appearances with the Nationals. He was never a model citizen off the field, despite all of his promise, and the organization unexpectedly released him during Spring Training before the 2010 season.

He reportedly agreed to terms with a team in the Mexican League shortly after the release, but failed to show up by the reporting date the two sides had previously agreed to. He eventually spent part of the 2010 season with the Newark Bears of the independent Atlantic League.

Dukes has been out of baseball since.

He hasn’t been able to stay out of the news, however. He was arrested first in early 2011 for allegedly assaulting his then-pregnant ex-girlfriend. Late last week, he was brought in once again by police on drug related charges. According to the guys at The Nats Blog, he was stopped for a traffic violation. When the officer approached Dukes’ drive side door they noticed a bag of marijuana sitting in his lap which Dukes allegedly attempted to eat in front of the officer. He’s facing multiple charges, including attempted destruction of evidence.