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Crime & Safety

Brewers Pitcher Francisco 'K-Rod' Rodriguez Charged With Domestic Abuse

Rodriguez, 30, is accused of beating his fiancé inside a Wales home after she accused him of cheating on her.

Note: This story was updated at 2:20 p.m Thursday to reflect amended charges.

Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez has been charged with disorderly conduct after police say he beat his fiancé after getting into an argument because she believed he was cheating on her.

Rodriguez, 30, of Coral Springs, FL, was initally charged Wednesday in Waukesha County Circuit Court with one count of battery domestic abuse, a misdemeanor. On Thursday, the complaint was amended to disorderly conduct-domestic abuse, also a misdemeanor.

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Under the amended charges, Rodriguez faces up to 90 days in jail and $1,000 in fines if convicted. Had he been tried under the original battery charges, Rodriguez would have faces up to nine months in prison and $10,000 in fines.

It's the second time since 2010 he has been charged in an episode of domestic violence. West Islip NY Patch reported that he was arrested and charged with third-degree assault and second-degree harassment in 2010 after striking his father-in-law in the face.

According to the criminal complaint:

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At 2:40 a.m. Sept. 18, Waukesha County Sheriff's deputies were called to a home in Wales, a community about 40 miles west of Milwaukee, after someone reported a domestic abuse case in progress inside the home. When they arrived, they were met by Rodriguez at the door, who seemed surprised to see the deputies and asked if there was a problem.

After deputies explained why they were there, Rodriguez let them enter the home and he told them his fiance was upstairs. Deputies found a maid upstairs in the home, who said she didn't call police, but then found a 23-year-old female crying and hiding inside a closet.

She told deputies she and Rodriguez had been arguing before going to bed, and he became upset and struck her on the head.

She said her nose began to bleed after getting hit due to a history of physical abuse. The woman told police she grabbed a sweatshirt and tried to stop the bleeding, but then Rodriguez grabbed her by the hair and threw her. Once on the floor, she said Rodriguez then began kicking her and injured her left upper shoulder blade, bruised her left upper thigh and injured her left hand near her wrist.

After the beating, she said Rodriguez dragged her to his car. She told him to take her to the hospital, but Rodriguez screamed at her to change her bloody clothes and refused to take her anywhere until she did. She told Rodriguez she was in a great amount of pain and unable to lift her arm very high, so he cut the sleeve of her shirt so she could remove it.

After putting on a clean shirt, according to the complaint, Rodriguez began to drive the victim around, but she said it appeared they were just driving around in circles in the subdivision. They began to argue again in the truck and the victim said Rodriguez struck her in the chin, then drove around some more before returning to the home.

When they got back, the victim said she wanted to call the police for help, but Rodriguez then grabbed all the of the phones and began to hide them, so she had to go to the second floor of the residence to find a telephone to use. Police interviewed the maid about the incident and she said she took a pill to sleep and didn't see the incident, but she has worked for Rodriguez for six years and this is a normal and known behavior for him.

Rodriguez told police the victim had said she wanted to go to Pittsburgh with him for a Sept. 18-20 road trip, but he said no. He took a shower and after getting out, he said she accused him of cheating on her. Rodriguez told deputies the victim "pushed me and I pushed her back and we forced into each other." He then said the victim gets nosebleeds when cries a lot, so he got her a towel and that's when she said left hand was injured.

He said she then asked him to take her to the hospital and they left to find one, but they couldn't find anything that was open, so they drove home and he told her he didn't want to talk, so she went up to the bedroom and didn't see her again until deputies arrived.

According to the complaint, Rodriguez was asked how he pushed the woman away and he told deputies "when she was coming at me, I grabbed her by the hair and then was pushing her aside," then made motions as how he did it. Rodriguez was asked how the bloody clothes had gotten on the floor and he said the woman asked him to cut it off because she was unable to take it off because her hand hurt too badly.

Deputies searched the house and found a bloody sweatshirt and a pullover-type shirt with blood on it at the entrance of a walk-in closet. Across from the closet was a bloody bath towel and blood on the right side of the bed.

Deputies talked with the woman again on Sept. 20, two days after the call, and she had a brace on her wrist, but now denied having any other injuries. She allowed a female deputy to inspect her back, but refused to let the deputy see her thigh.

The woman then told the deputy the entire altercation was her fault because she started the argument and pushed Rodriguez first. She said she fell down on her own, which re-aggravated a pre-existing wrist injury. She then denied Rodriguez had touched or harmed her in any way.

According to the report, the woman said she took full responsibility for "disrespecting" Rodriguez, and said she only called 911 to try and calm things down and then gave a vague answer when asked about Rodriguez hiding the phones. When asked why she called 911 from the closet, the woman said she was simply in that room with her baby, but when deputies had arrived at the home, the baby was in a different room.

The victim told deputies her relationship with Rodriguez is over and she wants to go back to her home country. She said she is dependent on Rodriguez for money because she has no friends or family in the country, regretted calling 911 and didn't want to pursue the matter further.

Rodriguez will make his initial appearance in court Nov. 12.

The former New York Mets closer joined the Brewers in 2011 and helped the team win the National League Central Division, but slumped badly in 2012 and finished with a 2-7 record and a 4.38 ERA in 78 appearances. He pitched on a one-year, $8 million contract in 2012 and is technically a free agent.

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