Here's the story, from today's Washington Post:

Ponson Remains Jailed
Attorney: Alcohol-Fueled Fight Left 4 Injured, 3 in Custody



By Dave Sheinin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 30, 2004; Page D05


The beachside altercation that has kept Baltimore Orioles pitcher Sidney Ponson locked up in an Aruban jail since Christmas Day grew out of an alcohol-fueled confrontation that left four people injured and three people, including Ponson, in police custody, Ponson's attorney said yesterday .

Attorney Chris Lejuez acknowledged Ponson's part in the fight, but declined an opportunity to proclaim his client's innocence of the charges of assault and fighting in a public place.

"If you are in a fight, it is very hard to be innocent," Lejuez said. "The only way to be innocent in a fight is to avoid it."

Ponson, 28, spent a fifth night in jail last night at a police station in the town of San Nicholas, and could remain there through the weekend as the public prosecutor finishes investigating Saturday's altercation. Ponson remains in police custody because Aruba's legal system has no bail option.

Although it remains unclear when Ponson will be released -- he could be transferred to a prison early next week if the prosecutor finds there is cause to keep him detained, and a judge agrees -- Lejuez said he believes Ponson will be available for spring training on time in mid-February.

"I'm very confident he will be able to get back in time for his preparations for spring training," Lejuez said. Asked about the possibility of prison time, he said, "I'm hopeful we don't get to that point."

The Orioles have remained mostly silent on Ponson's case, and majority owner Peter Angelos said yesterday that he will withhold judgment until all the facts are out.

"I would be the last person to prejudge him," said Angelos. "There was an allegation made, but it isn't fair to just automatically assume he was in the wrong. [Someone else] could have been the aggressor."

According to police reports, Ponson was confronted on the beach Saturday by a group of people who asserted he had harassed them by recklessly operating his personal watercraft. In the ensuing altercation, Ponson allegedly struck a man in the face, then fled the scene. The alleged victim, who turned out to be a local judge named W. Noordhuizen, was hospitalized, and Ponson was later taken into police custody.

Messages left at Noordhuizen's office were not returned yesterday, and a receptionist said he was on vacation.

Lejuez acknowledged alcohol was involved in the altercation, adding, "It was Christmas Day. People were drinking and having a good time. So people were under the influence of alcohol, but not only Sidney."

According to Mary Ann Croes, a spokesperson in the public prosecutor's office, "multiple" people were injured in the fight and three were detained. However, she declined to name the other people who were detained and would not divulge the condition of those injured.

Lejuez said that four people were treated for injuries. "Mostly bruises, some swelling, a black eye," he said.

According to Lejuez, the incident began when Ponson, who was riding his Jet Ski in the waters off Boca Catalina, was beckoned to the beach by a group of two or three people.

"The people on the beach apparently told him, 'Come here,' " Lejuez said. "They invited him to discuss the matter. So he went to the beach to discuss the matter. He did not go to the beach to fight. But once he was on the beach, the fight started. . . . One of them tried to hit him, and that's when the fight started."

Once the fight began, two people described by Lejuez as friends of Ponson's came to his defense. Lejuez said he has seen their statements to police, and they are "very similar" to Ponson's statement.

According to Croes, three outcomes could result from the prosecutor's investigation: If there is not enough evidence of his guilt, Ponson could be set free. If there is evidence of guilt, he can be released while he awaits a trial. Or a judge could fine him and/or sentence him to community service.

Ponson is a highly prominent figure in his home country, holding the distinction of being one of only three Arubans to play in the major leagues, and he was decorated as a Knight in the Order of the Dutch Royal House in 2003. However, Croes said Ponson's celebrity status will not affect his legal status.

"We treat every case equally," Croes said. "If the person involved is popular or not, it is not important to us. We do what we always do, which is to investigate fully all the facts of the case and decide how to proceed."

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I think it was all just a publicity stunt to get Kevin 1,000 posts. Way to go, Sir Sidney.

Oh, and way to go Kevin!!!

Publicity stunt or not, I'm there - thanks for noticing Stefa! I knew I was getting close, but hadn't realized that I was there - even if it took Sidney brawling with a judge on a beach to make it to 1000, I'll take it!

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Don't know who Sidney Ponson is, but wow over 1,000 posts??? Congratulations kevin!! Sherry does Kevin win something??

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i don't know if he wins anything but he deserves to. sidney ponson is a pitcher for the orioles who is from aruba.

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Very interesting story. I wonder what will happen and who they'll find to be the aggressor in that scenario.

Now, how many posts am I up to? LOL.

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Amie
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203...now 204. Nowhere near ya Kevin. You've blown us all away.

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Amie
Stylish Crochet Patterns
See me on this t.v. show!
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i'm a little closer than that. hey, two of sidney's friends who were also jailed sawed thru the bars and escaped last night. is that absolutely hysterical? in aruba, will they get more time for beating a judge or breaking out of jail? either way it's destruction of government 'property'. sorry, i just had to throw that line in.

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How dumb! Where are they going to go? I don't think they can get on a plane and fly away, and it's a pretty small island.

But how hysterical that they were CAPABLE of sawing the bars open, and the fact that they found something to saw it with. TOO FUNNY, and somehow very pathetic all the same.

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Amie
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sidney was released from jail today after 11 days. he will face a hearing in aruba some time during spring training. wonder what they will do with him?

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There was an article about him in today's Washington Post - apparently his cronies were arrested (after breaking out) with over 20k worth of cash, jewelry and drugs in their possession, along with a police scanner. Here's a partial segment of the article:

Whatever the cause of their offseason inactivity, the Orioles discovered in recent days just how precarious the prospects of a marginal team can become when you suddenly decide to turn ultra-thrifty. While the Yankees have been courting Johnson, the Orioles' prospective Opening Day pitcher, Sidney Ponson, was in the slammer in Aruba for 10 days.
Everyone in the Orioles organization, no doubt, has some special question for Sir Sidney who, for the time being, is still a Knight in the Order of the Dutch Royal House. I just want to know how he could sleep through the jailbreak.

Our "personal-watercraft" daredevil claims that he was innocently snoring on his bunk in the hoosegow during the entire time that two of his beach buddies were sawing their way through their prison bars. That's kind of noisy, isn't it?

I don't want to know how Sidney's "acquaintances" got the saws. I don't want to know why a Knight is hanging out with two guys who, after their breakout, were reportedly apprehended with $20,000 in cash, drugs, jewelry and a police scanner.

I just want to know how you stay asleep when you're in the same cell as "Escape From Alcatraz." Of course, maybe the answer is obvious. Sidney has been sleeping through the Orioles' pitching meetings for years.

--article by Thomas Boswell, Washington Post

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And the saga continues... How funny that the hearing is during spring training. Will be be in jail until then???

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Amie
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no he won't be. he was released. i suppose that they aren't going to keep someone in jail too long for a fight.

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