Houston Policeman Believes Drysdale Was Innocent Victim

CINCINNATI —  A Houston policeman investigating Dodger announcer Don Drysdale’s alleged drugging and theft said Thursday, “The only thing Drysdale did wrong was wear his jewelry.

“The way it has been portrayed is not what happened,” said Sgt. John Clinton of the incident, which reportedly occurred with two women in Drysdale’s hotel room. “We believe Drysdale is a totally innocent victim.”

According to the Houston police department, charges have been filed against two women who allegedly drugged the former Dodger pitcher Monday night in the bar of the team’s hotel and later stole a diamond watch, his Hall of Fame ring, and several other pieces of jewelry.

Similar charges were pressed against two different women who allegedly used the same scam to rob former Dodger Pedro Guerrero, now with the St. Louis Cardinals, of $26,000 worth of items last month in Houston.

Clinton said that according to the report, Drysdale was having drinks Monday night with several Dodgers in Annabelle’s, a 24th-floor nightclub at the Westin Galleria Hotel.

“He went to the restroom and left his drink unattended,” Clinton said. “That’s when one of the women put something in the drink.”

Clinton said the drug was likely Lorazepam, which he described as having “five times the strength of Valium.”

According to a Cincinnati pharmacist, the prescription drug is used in cases of high anxiety.

“It is like a fast-acting Valium,” said the pharmacist, who asked not to be identified. “It knocks you down right away.”

Clinton said that Drysdale reported that “he came outside the bathroom, finished his drink, and the next thing he knew, he was in the middle of the parking lot.”

Clinton said the thieves then made their move.

“It’s typical. They will sit back and watch their victims get into this weird state, and then they will come up like good citizens and ask to help them,” he said. “These women followed Don to the parking lot. They were the nice citizens. They asked him for his room number and told him they would help him to his room.

“They took him in and put him in bed, where he passed out. They were careful to be neat, because they wanted to make it look like nothing happened. Then they went through all of his stuff.”

Clinton said that Drysdale woke up 10 to 12 hours later, realized what had happened and immediately phoned police.

“Because of how this crime appears, most people won’t press charges--they’ll just report it for insurance purposes,” Clinton said. “When we told this to Don, he told us, no, he had nothing to hide. He said, ‘Hey, I’m not afraid of the truth.’ ”

Clinton said it could have been worse, adding: “To mix that high-powered drug with alcohol--there’s been cases where the victims in these things have died.”