GONZALES, La. -- Despite an array of legal problems, Greg
"Toe" Nash was such a hot baseball prospect that local officials
gave the high school dropout a second chance.
Those efforts may have gone for naught.
Nash, an outfielder in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' farm system,
was in jail Wednesday following his arrest on a charge of raping a
15-year-old girl.
"The local community, the political people, the mayor all
wanted to give this kid an opportunity," District Attorney Tony
Falterman said. "From what I know about him, he had every
opportunity to have a productive life in baseball."
Nash, 19, was arrested Tuesday on one count of aggravated rape
and one count of aggravated crime against nature, a felony charge
that covers a variety of sexual misconduct.
"My sympathy now goes to the victim and her family," Falterman
said. "I certainly did not want anything like that to happen to
someone."
In an unrelated case, Nash also was charged with one count of
felony theft. He was jailed in lieu of $300,000 bond.
Benny Latino, the scout who found Nash for the Devil Rays, said
he thought he could make a difference in Nash's life.
"Maybe I was naive, but to me he's innocent until proven
guilty. I can't abandon him now," Latino said.
Court records did not indicate if Nash had an attorney.
Last year, Nash was facing charges including domestic violence,
simple battery, simple robbery and marijuana possession. After
community urging, Falterman agreed to put Nash in a pre-trial
diversion program. If he completed the program successfully, the
charges would be dropped.
Falterman said his office normally prosecutes all domestic
violence cases, but the woman did not have any objection to
diverting the charge.
Nash was required to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, get
his general equivalency degree, pass drug screens, stay away from
firearms and observe a midnight curfew if he wasn't playing
baseball.
"We were very, very strict on him," Falterman said.
Falterman said Nash had been living in California and
authorities had been receiving good reports about his probation.
Nash apparently came back to Louisiana to have knee surgery in New
Orleans, Falterman said.
Police found out about the alleged rape while they were
investigating a home theft, said Col. Tony Bacala, a spokesman for
the Ascension Parish sheriff. A water jug half-filled with coins, a
safe, a pistol and an alarm clock were stolen.
Deputies investigating the theft said a 15-year-old girl told
them that Nash and two other men had brought the stolen items to
her house and that she had been raped by Nash and one of the other
men early Monday. The girl told investigators that Nash and the
other man took turns holding her down and raping her.
Dalacy Bureau, 19, of Prairieville, was booked on one count of
forcible rape and one count of felony theft. James Eric Thomas, 20,
of Prairieville, was booked on one count of felony theft. Bond was
set at $200,000 for Bureau and $25,000 for Thomas.
Bacala said the three men had been drinking with the girl and
other female friends at the house.
Falterman said the next step would be to take the case to a
grand jury, probably in about three weeks.
Last season, Nash played for the Princeton, W. Va., Devil Rays
of the Appalachian League, batting .240 in 47 games with eight home
runs and 29 RBI. Princeton general manager Jim Holland said the
team had no problems with Nash's behavior last year. The parent
club said it had not decided what action to take.
Nash attracted national attention when Manny Latino, a scout for
Tampa Bay, tracked him down and signed him to a $30,000 contract.
At the time, Nash was living in poverty in tiny Sorrento, La.,
about 50 miles west of New Orleans.
His mother had abandoned the family when Nash was 12, leaving
him and his sister with their father. After being expelled from
school three times, Nash dropped out at 15.
At 16, Nash, who learned to bat using a broom handle while his
father threw him bottle caps behind the family's house, began
playing in a semipro league.
If convicted of aggravated rape, Nash would face a mandatory
sentence of life in prison without parole. The other charges that
were deferred also could be brought back to court, Falterman said.
"If in fact the allegations are true, he's really messed up,"
Falterman said.
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