February 28, 200323 yr Source MIAMI (AP) - San Francisco Giants pitcher Livan Hernandez will accept a plea offer to settle charges that he tried to hit an elderly warehouse owner with golf clubs. Hernandez was charged with felony aggravated assault and battery after the Jan. 8 altercation. Prosecutor Erika Isidron said Friday that charges will be dropped if Hernandez attends anger management classes, performs 50 hours of community service and donates $500 to charity. He has until after the baseball season to meet the terms. Defense attorney Manuel Vazquez entered a formal plea of not guilty, but said it was in Hernandez' best interests to accept the deal. Hernandez, at spring training in Arizona, did not attend the hearing. He must formally accept the offer March 10. Police said Hernandez pushed 65-year-old Francisco Martinez to the ground during an argument outside a warehouse he rents from the victim. The dispute escalated and police said Hernandez grabbed some golf clubs from the trunk of his car and tried to hit Martinez. But Hernandez disputed the allegations, saying it was Martinez who threw punches and that he never struck back or tried to hit him with any golf clubs. Martinez has sued Hernandez in a civil lawsuit, but no trial date has been set.
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