Not everything was cheerful over the holidays for former Atlanta Braves star outfielder Andruw Jones after he was arrested in suburban Atlanta early Tuesday on Christmas morning for a battery charge, according to jail records.
Police responded to a call on Tuesday around 1:30 a.m. about a domestic dispute Jones and his wife in Duluth, Ga. Jones was free on bond as of Wednesday. Gwinnett County Detention Center records said that Jones was booked into the jail around 3:45 a.m. and was released on $2,400 bond by 11 a.m.
According to a police report obtained by the Associated Press, the fight occurred around 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday and started after Nicole Jones asked her husband to help her prepare the house for Christmas morning. The report stated that later on she tried to escape upstairs, but Jones grabbed her by the ankle and dragged her downstairs. After bringing her down, he got on top of her and said, "I want to kill you," according to the report.
Jones has been married to Nicole Derick since 2002 and the couple also has a son together. According to SlimCelebrity.com, Derick-Jones has worked with charities on domestic violence issues and held a golf tournament and gala in 2010 for the Jaden's Ladder "Fairway Affair," which benefited domestic violence survivors.
"We hope to be able to help more families," said Nicole Jones at the time to AccessAtlanta.com.
According to the website, Derick-Jones is interested in fashion and has a degree is fashion merchandising from Bauder Fashion College. She also started a custom jewelry collection in 2009 with business partner Chantel Watkins.
This past season Jones was with the New York Yankees and hit just 14 homers with 34 RBIs in 94 games in what was primarily a bench role. The 16-year veteran was a star in the majors during his time with Atlanta, winning 10 consecutive Gold Gloves as a center fielder after coming up in 1996.
Jones was known for his power during his career and led the majors in home runs in 2005 with 51, his only season with more than 50. The following year he hit 41 home runs, but has steadily declined in numbers since 2007 when he hit 26. Jones hit only three in 75 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008 and has hit 27 home runs in the past two years with the Yankees.
Since hitting .303 with Atlanta in 2000, Jones hasn't hit near .300 in any season and has dipped below .200 twice, including in 2008 with the Dodgers and last season with the Yankees when he hit for only a .197 average.
During his career, Jones hit 434 home runs with 1,289 RBIs and 383 doubles while batting a lifetime .254 average. He was votes an All-Star five times and won the Silver Slugger Award and the Hank Aaron Award in 2005. Jones has played with the Braves, Dodgers, Texas Rangers, Chicago While Sox and the New York Yankees during his playing career.
Jones became the youngest player ever to hit a home run in the postseason while with the Braves in 1996 and also was the second player ever to hot home runs in his first two World Series at bats when he did it against the Yankees. His best season came in 2005 when he led the NL in home runs and RBIs and finished second to Albert Pujols in the MVP voting.
Jones was planning to play overseas in Japan next season and signed a $3.5 million, one-year contract with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan's Pacific League earlier this month.
Here is a photo of Andruw Jones' mug shot from the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office. Here is the booking page from Jones' arrest.
