Rangers’ Dave Stewart Is Arrested for Lewd Conduct

Texas Rangers pitcher Dave Stewart, a former Dodger, was arrested this week on suspicion of participating in an act of lewd conduct in a public place with a transvestite prostitute, police and a Ranger spokesman said.

The arrest, near Sixth and Crocker streets downtown, was the second this month of a well-known athlete in Los Angeles. Olympic gold medalist Edwin Moses was arrested Jan. 13 in Hollywood, where he allegedly solicited sex from an undercover female officer.

Police said Stewart, 27, of Grand Prairie, Tex., and Elson Tyler, 27, of Los Angeles (who also goes by the name Lucille), were arrested in the pitcher’s car early Wednesday in an alley.

“Mr. Stewart said he was unaware that Tyler was a male until after the arrest,” Police Cmdr. William Booth said. “That was his statement, and we have reason to believe him.”

Booth, the department’s chief spokesman, said Stewart, the divorced father of two daughters, did not list his occupation on the official arrest report. Two police officers, who asked to remain anonymous, said Stewart was the pitcher for the Rangers.

The city attorney’s office will determine what charges, if any, will be filed. Stewart was released on his own recognizance.

Jim Small, a spokesman for the Rangers, confirmed the arrest. “To our knowledge, it was Texas pitcher Dave Stewart,” Small said.

Stewart pitched for the Dodgers in 1978-83, then was traded to Texas for Rick Honeycutt.