http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...TS19/305170004
BY FRANK WITSIL and JOHN LOWE
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
A romantic evening between Detroit Tiger Dmitri Young and a 21-year-old college student ended in an argument and then a struggle, police said Wednesday.
Young, 32, is accused of choking his former girlfriend in the early morning hours of April 14, while the two were staying at the posh Townsend Hotel in Birmingham.
Young was charged Tuesday with domestic violence, a misdemeanor, and is expected to turn himself in to authorities Monday in a deal worked out between police and his attorney, police said.
"It's a bum deal," Young said Wednesday. "Unfortunately, it's public knowledge. I don't see this person any more."
Young is a designated hitter for the Tigers. He came to the team in 2001 from the Cincinnati Reds.
If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 93 days in jail and a $500 fine.
A spokesman for the Tigers said it would be inappropriate to comment on the incident.
Birmingham police said that the Toledo woman reported the incident three days after it happened. Police said she had bruises on her hip and leg, and photographs that show scratches on her neck, upper body and leg.
Birmingham Police Detective John Heppner said Young's accuser told investigators that the couple had been dating for about two years. The detective declined to release the woman's name because Young has yet to be arraigned in 48th District Court.
Heppner said the woman said she and Young went out for dinner at a swanky Birmingham restaurant, had drinks at the Blue Martini, and then checked into the Townsend, which is known for catering to celebrities.
Between 4 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., the couple began quarreling about their relationship and Young became violent, Heppner said the woman said. He said there was yelling, and the woman tried to defend herself.
"Her claim is that he grabbed her around the neck and choked her," Heppner said.
After that, Heppner said, the woman drove herself home.
The next afternoon, Heppner said, the woman went to a doctor for an examination and took photographs of her injuries.
Young was charged with domestic violence instead of assault and battery, Heppner said, because the two had a long-term relationship.