Former major league pitcher to use insanity defense in trial

Former Major League Baseball pitcher Jeff Reardon was delirious and legally insane when he walked into a Palm Beach Gardens jewelry store in December and handed over a note demanding money and jewelry, according to a court document filed Thursday.

Attorney Mitchell Beers plans to use a voluntary intoxication/insanity defense when representing Reardon, 50, who lives in PGA National.

Reardon had been suffering for a significant period of time from severe depression, enormous guilt and anger as a result of his 20-year-old son’s 2004 drug and alcohol overdose death, Beers’ motion states.

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Less than two weeks before the incident at Hamilton Jewelers, Reardon was released from St. Mary’s Medical Center after a stay to treat depression, according to Beers’ motion.

MORE: Former major league pitcher to use insanity defense in trial: South Florida Sun-Sentinel