Otis Nixon arrested after police find crack pipe in his pocket, drugs in his truck

Former Atlanta Braves star Otis Nixon — who has battled drug problems in the past, but in recent years started his own ministry — was arrested over the weekend in Georgia after officers allegedly found a crack pipe in his pocket and crack cocaine in his truck.

Nixon, 54, was driving his Dodge Ram erratically, according to a 911 caller, who notified authorities just after midnight on Saturday. Nixon was still in jail Monday, being held on $11,880 bond, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Here's more on the incident from the AJC:

Inside Nixon’s truck, investigators found a small rock substance believed to be crack cocaine, the report states. Nixon also had a crack pipe in his pants’ pockets, deputies said.

“Otis admitted to me that the substance was crack cocaine but it didn’t belong to him,” a deputy wrote in the report. “Otis said the crack cocaine and the pipe belonged to his son.”

During a search of the truck, investigators found an additional crack pipe, more suspected crack rocks and a plastic bag containing suspected cocaine residue in the floor board of the driver’s side, the sheriff’s office said.

Field sobriety tests were conducted on Nixon, who did not appear under the influence of drugs or alcohol, according to police. Nixon lives in Gordon County, but told deputies he was taking his female passenger home at the time he was stopped.

After being arrested and placed in the backseat of a patrol car, Nixon allegedly handed a deputy another small bag of suspected crack cocaine rocks.

As a player, Nixon — who stole 620 bases in his career — was suspended for cocaine use in 1991. He had previously gone through rehab in 1987. On his website, Nixon says he's moved past his demons: "My life today is Christ-Centered free from the past experiences and storms of drugs and alcohol, trials and tests of keeping it real. My testimony speaks for itself."

In 2010, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution profiled Nixon and his new life as a "born-again Brave," writing:

The Nixon of today shows himself as a preacher, a penitent, a pitchman, an author, a fourth-time husband and an Alcoholics Anonymous member with a one-year sobriety chip in his pocket.

In 2013, however, things don't sound as stable for Nixon. Before this arrest, he was connected to a prison scam in February.

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