Tag Archives: HIroshima Carp

Jackson home after charges dropped

After three weeks in detention, former Lotte Marines and Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jay Jackson is home in the United States, his agent said Wednesday.

Drug possession charges against the 32-year-old Jackson have been dropped, Kyodo News reported Tuesday, after the Hiroshima District Public Prosecutors Office decided not to pursue the case because “there was not enough evidence to confirm the facts.”

Jackson was arrested on July 10 by police from the western Japan prefecture at his home in eastern Japan. Acting on a tip, they searched his apartment in Chiba east of Tokyo, and found cartridges containing liquid cannabis.

The pitcher has deep connections in Hiroshima, where he played for the pro club there, the Carp from 2016 to 2018. His Japanese former partner gave birth to their son in December 2018, but in the past year has declined to permit Jackson to visit the boy.

Before he signed on with the Marines for this season, he expected being in Japan would make it easier to see his son, but soon said that in some ways it became more complicated. According to Jackson’s agent, Han Lee, the pitcher failed to get visiting rights at a June 23 custody hearing.

The arrest came when he and his lawyers were planning an appeal. This would have cost his former partner and those supporting her more time and money, so the timing of the tip and the arrest are suspicious.

What’s next for Jackson

Having been arrested in Japan for possession of marijuana, former Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres pitcher Jay Jackson will likely be released but will have to stand before a judge before leaving Japan, a former prosecutor said Saturday.

Jackson was charged with possession of liquid cannabis in the form of THC pen cartridges, a source said Friday. On Tuesday, Hiroshima Prefectural police searched his home in Chiba, east of Tokyo, and on the other side of the country, reportedly after receiving an anonymous tip.

The timing of the tip appears to be linked to Jackson’s battle to gain visiting rights to see his 1-year-old son Jaiden, who is in the custody of his former Japanese partner. Jackson’s side was in the process of filing an appeal after one unsuccessful custody hearing when the police came knocking after he pitched an inning of scoreless relief for the Lotte Marines.

After that, Jackson asked to be let out of his contract with the Marines, who released him on Thursday.

What’s in store

“The police have to send every crime to prosecutor’s office, so his case will be sent soon,” the former prosecutor said. “If this arrest is his first, he can be released without a long detention. But he must appear before judge in court for trial.”

Until then, the former prosecutor said, he won’t be allowed to return to the U.S.

“Up until an indictment, everything is decided by the prosecutor. After that, the judge decides while considering appeals and evidence raised by the prosecutors and the defendant’s attorneys.”