MLB pitcher kicked, tased and arrested after allegedly crawling through the doggy door of a stranger’s home
San Diego Padres pitcher Jacob Nix was kicked and tased after he was caught crawling through a doggy door of a home in Arizona this weekend, according to court documents.
A woman in Peoria, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix, called police after her husband caught a man entering their residence early Sunday morning, according to a police report.
The husband told Peoria Police he was woken up around 3:30 a.m. when he heard sound coming from the doggy door located in his bedroom, the police report said. He said he saw a flashlight shining through the door that leads to the backyard and then noticed a man attempting to crawl through. Police identified the man as 23-year-old Nix in their report, and noted that his employer is the San Diego Padres.
The husband yelled for his wife to call 911 and give him his gun, according to the police report. His wife told police that she couldn’t retrieve her husband’s handgun, so she grabbed the Taser instead.
The husband told police he kicked Nix in the face, then noticed another man’s arm reach in and try to pull Nix outside. Nix and the other man, whom police identified as Thomas Cosgrove, 23, started running away. Armed with his stun gun, the husband leaned through the doggy door, took aim and struck Nix in his back, according to the police report.
The husband told police that Nix fell down, according to the police report, and both the men then ran from the house on foot. Peoria Police say they found the two men several miles away and arrested them without incident.
Nix and Cosgrove, who is a minor league pitcher, told police they were dropped off at the house by a rideshare service, and Nix said he believed it was his residence, according to the report. Nix said that he usually enters his home through the front, and that none of his doors have a doggy door.
Both men told police that they had been out drinking that night.
“This is my fault, I can’t blame alcohol but I was inebriated,” Nix said. He said he could not remember getting into the backyard.
Nix dropped his phone inside the home, and verified to police it was his when he was being booked into jail, the police report said.
On October 6, according to court documents from Maricopa County obtained by CNN affiliate KPHO/KTVK, both men were charged with criminal trespassing for entering the homeowner’s backyard and Nix was charged with an additional count of criminal trespassing for entering the residence. According to the records, they both bonded out that afternoon, Nix paying a $100 bond and Cosgrove paying a $50 bond to the court.
Nix and Cosgrove did not immediately return calls for comment on Thursday night.
On the Maricopa County court’s official website, as of October 10, Nix is listed as charged with one count of criminal trespassing for entering the residence. An attorney is not listed for Nix at this time.
Nix is currently listed on the MLB’s official site as playing for the Peoria Javelinas during the Arizona Fall League. He last played when he was the starting pitcher during the game on October 4 against the Salt River Rafters. Cosgrove, plays for the Lake Elsinore Storm, an Advanced A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, according to Minor League Baseball’s official site.
“We are aware of the alleged incident involving Jacob Nix last Sunday in Arizona,” the San Diego Padres said in a statement Thursday. “We take this matter seriously and have been in contact with the Commissioner’s office and local authorities. Due to the ongoing legal proceedings, we will not have any further comment at this time.”
Nix has a status hearing on October 14. Cosgrove had an arraignment hearing on Tuesday.
