Reds' Leake pleads guilty to a lesser charge

CINCINNATI —
Mike Leake, Macy's and the court system have resolved all issues surrounding charges the Reds pitcher stole six shirts from a downtown Cincinnati department store.

On Friday morning, the 23-year-old native of San Diego and Phoenix resident entered a guilty plea to a charge of unauthorized use of property, a fourth-degree misdemeanor. The original charge was theft, a first-degree misdemeanor charge.

Leake was accepted into a diversion program that includes 30 hours of community service for non-profit organizations. He also must undergo counseling. Once the diversion-counseling program is completed, the case will be dismissed and the records expunged.

Leake met with the media before Friday's game with the Florida Marlins and talked briefly about what happened.

"My side of the story is that on April 2 I went in to purchase six shirts and they did not fit, wrong size," he said. "So I proceeded to go to Macy's (on April 18) and exchange them, on my own, instead of talking to the clerk. I set (the other) six shirts down and got the correct size myself. I walked out and they stopped me.

"I immediately realized what a bonehead move it was, very wrong, and I sincerely apologize," he said.

Leake said originally that he had a receipt for the purchase, but on Friday he said he didn't, but that the purchase is on his credit card statement. He did not comment on why he removed the security tags from the shirts he exchanged.

"It was a serious lapse of judgment, and for that I will be willing to do anything I have to do," he said. "I will do the diversion program, whatever they might have me do, for my mistakes."

Asked if this was the first and only time he tried to make a return without a clerk's help, Leake said, "In this way? Yes."

The April 18 incident was at 1:30 in the afternoon, and Leake stopped at the store on his way to the ballpark for a game that night.

"I can't tell you the reason (why he made the exchange without aid of a clerk)," he said. "My thought process? I can't tell you what was going on in my head. I know it was truly a bad mistake."

After much debate, the Reds permitted Leake to take his regular turn in the pitching rotation, three days after the incident.

He pitched well that Thursday, beating the Houston Astros 7-4 and pushing his record to 3-0.

"That was my goal," he said. "I didn't want to have it affect my teammates and the people around me, so I just had to keep my head on straight," he said. "I thought it would be more difficult than it was, but with the support of the fans I didn't feel any type of pressure from anybody."

When it was mentioned to manager Dusty Baker that Leake responded well on the mound, he said, "He pitched better, actually. I mean, he did. He had something he wanted to prove to us and to please us. He pitched admirably through all of this. Hopefully we can have some closure now, put it to rest, and hope it never rises again.

"Everybody in the country needed to hear his side, because everywhere we've gone (St. Louis, Milwaukee) we've seen the signs in the stands. People have been cruel without knowing the facts and made their own assessments."

Leake prefaced his media appearance by reading a statement in which he apologized to ownership, management, teammates, family and friends.

"I again want to apologize to everybody in the organization for the pressure I put on them and the drama I caused," he said.

Leake's mission is to regain any lost support or lost confidence from his teammates, the fans and his coaches.

"I've addressed the clubhouse and given them my sincere apology about it and the distraction it caused," he said. "I can't handle whether they trust me or not. I was my mistake and if they can't trust me from here on out, there is nothing I can do about it. I just hope that's not the case."

Leake is particularly pleased that once he completes what the court orders there will be no record of the incident.

"Yes, it is nice that it was reduced for me and it was, uh, just a mistake," he said. "Now I can help this program to continue on its goal of winning a national championship."

Leake would not address a question about whether he was afforded the chance to explain what he was doing when he was stopped by store security and said, "I'd rather not get into that. We'll let it rest where it is."

Leake, 3-0 with a 4.40 ERA, makes his next start Monday in Great American Ball Park, once again against the Houston Astros.