Former Olympic star in meth bust

Published Sep. 1, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Billy Lyle "B.J." Wallace, Jr., who shot to fame as a pitcher for the US baseball team in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, was arrested Tuesday in Loxley, Ala., on several charges related to producing methamphetamines, the Mobile Press-Register reported.

Wallace, 40, and his wife Amber Sheree McKenzie, 29, were being held in Baldwin County Corrections Center on $31,000 bond, facing charges of first-degree manufacturing of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to the report.

"There were numerous items that were found, a lot of precursors used to make methamphetamine. There was two ounces of the final product and four shake-and-bake meth labs [20-oz. or two-liter plastic bottles used in mixing ingredients]," said Lt. Doug Phillips, according to local FOX affiliate WALA-TV 10.

"It can turn into an incredible explosive," Phillips said. "Even if it didn’t explode, if one of the kids drank it, thinking it was a soda bottle, who knows what could happen?"

The paper reported that the police investigation had been ongoing for some time and that charges could be enhanced because the house the couple was renting was near an elementary school.

Wallace's three children, aged 2, 8 and 12, also lived at the house, but it's not clear if they were home at the time. They have since been turned over to their grandparents.

Wallace, raised in nearby Monroeville, set a record with 14 strikeouts against Italy in the 1992 Olympics. He was selected third overall by the Montreal Expos in the 1992 draft, three spots ahead of Derek Jeter. They signed the left-hander for $550,000, though he never reached the majors.