Astros prospect Delino DeShields Jr. was coming from a Georgia fraternity house late Saturday night when he was arrested and later charged with DUI and two other misdemeanors, according to a police report.
DeShields was stopped at approximately 11:30 p.m. ET after allegedly driving the wrong way on a one-way street near the University of Georgia campus. He told Athens-Clarke County police that he was leaving a Kappa Alpha gathering. According to the police, he said he had consumed a sip of beer earlier in the night and consented to a breath test, which registered .076 BAC. The legal limit in Georgia for a driver under age 21 — DeShields turned 18 in August – is .02.
Upon later being taken to the police station, he registered a .092 and a .094 in an intoxication test.
Police found four open bottles of liquor in the car, a 2010 Cadillac Escalade registered to DeShields, leading to the charge of underage possession of alcohol. The third charge was for the one-way roadway violation.
He was booked at 1:06 a.m. Eastern on Sunday morning and released on bond nearly two hours later.
Athens-Clarke County officials said that he would likely have a hearing on Feb. 17, which does not conflict with spring training report dates for minor leaguers.
DeShields made a statement on his Facebook page accepting responsibility for the incident.
“I take the responsibility of being a role model seriously and apologize to my fans, my community and the Astros organization, who continue to support my family and I during this unfortunate incident. I look forward to putting this matter behind me and sincerely appreciate the respect of privacy during this personal matter.”
DeShields was the Astros’ first-round pick (No. 8 overall) in the 2010 draft. A native of Greater Atlanta, he hit .313 last year in 16 games at rookie-level Greeneville and was scheduled to begin the transition from the outfield to second base this year, most likely at Class A Lexington.
zachary.levine@chron.com
