Milton Bradley Gets 2½ Years for Attacking His Wife

Former Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Milton Bradley of Encino was sentenced Tuesday to more than two and half years behind bars and five years of intensive probation for repeatedly attacking and threatening his estranged wife.

Bradley, 35, was also ordered to complete year-long anger-management and domestic-violence classes. He was told to return to court Aug. 8 to prove he has enrolled in the programs.

Immediately after Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Thomas Rubinson announced the sentence, Bradley's attorney, Harland Braun, filed paperwork announcing his intent to appeal the case, so the former outfielder was allowed to remain free on $250,000 bond while the appeal is pending.

Rubinson sentenced Bradley to 960 days in jail. As part of his probation, Bradley also must complete 400 hours of community service -- including 200 hours coaching baseball programs for disadvantaged youth, preferably in the Long Beach area.

The judge said it was "heartbreaking" that Bradley never offered to coach or help out with his son's baseball league.

After a four-week jury trial, Bradley was convicted June 3 of four misdemeanor counts of spousal battery, two counts of criminal threats, and one count each of assault with a deadly weapon, vandalism and brandishing a deadly weapon.

The charges stemmed from four attacks in 2012 and one in 2011, during which he threatened to beat his wife, Monique, with a baseball bat, kicked her in the ribs, and choked her after she asked him to stop smoking marijuana in front of their two sons, according to Deputy City Attorney Michelle Lim.

In March 2012, Bradley threatened his wife with a knife and said, "You'll be dead ... before you divorce me," according to the prosecutor.

The defense argued that Monique, now separated from Bradley, was exaggerating in order to get out of a prenuptial agreement and gain control in a custody dispute.

During an emotional sentencing hearing, Bradley spoke in a near whisper, saying he went to trial in the case because he would not accept a plea deal "for something I didn't do."

"I can't really say I'm sorry," Bradley said, adding that his wife Monique was dishonest, used him and played on his weakness.

He said he got married "under the premise of love," saying his wife made him "believe that she was in love with me ... playing on my insecurities."

Braun, the defense attorney, said that despite a protective order that had been issued to keep Bradley away from his wife, Monique Bradley repeatedly invited him to her home.

"He wasn't even supposed to be at the house, but Monique Bradley had him living at the house," Braun said. "... She chose not to enforce the order because she basically wanted Mr. Bradley there."

Referring to the injuries suffered by Monique Bradley, Braun said, "I think she bruises easily."

Monique Bradley said she was continuing to deal with the emotional trauma of the abuse.

"The bruises -- they go away," she said. "But what he did to me ... it's going to take some time. And he doesn't care."

She added, "I can't live with his anger. It's not worth it and he's not worth it."

Lim said Bradley continued to deny any responsibility for his actions in a marriage that saw a steady progression of violence. She said the athlete had broken "television sets, phones, gave her an enormous black eye and bruises to the neck from being choked -- and that was the final incident."

"Baseball is supposed to be a gentleman's sport -- and this man is the farthest thing from a gentleman I've ever seen," Lim said. "In my 20 years as a criminal prosecutor, I've never seen a case with (such) a level of danger, a level of lethality."

Bradley, who most recently played for the Seattle Mariners in 2010 and 2011, has a well-documented history of run-ins with umpires, managers, teammates and fans, including incidents when he was with the Dodgers in 2004 and 2005.

Rubinson said Bradley maintained a "constant sense of fear and violence" in the couple's home. He said Bradley he showed a fixation on particular objects, and his wife "was just another one of his things to manipulate and overpower."

"Everything is about me -- my car, my house, my kids and ultimately, my woman," the judge said.

Rubinson told Bradley, "You seem to be a balled up fist of a man," noting that he even demonstrated an inability to control his anger in the courtroom during the trial.

-- City News Service