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He climbed in through a window, chased his wife of six years, Karla, though the house and into the bedroom. Balentien is now facing a felony false imprisonment charge and a misdemeanor battery charge. The couple was in the process of divorcing.
Balentien — who previously played for the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds — hit 60 homers last season in the Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball league, breaking the long-standing record of Japanese baseball hero Sadaharu Oh.
Now that success will be marred by one of the worst off-the-field offenses any athlete can be charged with. Here's an Associated Press account of what happened:
According to a police affidavit, Karla Balentien refused to answer the door or her phone when Wladimir Balentien arrived at the house Sunday. Wladimir Balentien then pulled out several window screens and climbed into the house through a dining room window.
Balentien grabbed his wife's arm as she was running upstairs, police said, and then followed her into a bedroom and locked the door. The couple's young daughter was also there.
A witness called police and Balentien was taken into custody, according to the affidavit.
With a young child there? How horrible.
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- Crime & Justice
- Society & Culture
- Wladimir Balentien
