Two days after two-time Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Chris Antley was found dead in the hallway of his Pasadena home, an acquaintance pleaded not guilty to drug charges stemming from an earlier incident at the house, officials said.
Timothy Wyman Tyler Jr., 24, was then taken into sheriff's custody, and faces drug and drunk driving charges from two other arrest warrants. Police say that he is not considered a suspect in Antley's death.
In September both men were arrested on methamphetamine-related charges at Antley's home in the city's San Rafael neighborhood, a deputy city prosecutor said.
Tyler, who is the son of a well-to-do Pasadena family, did not appear for a scheduled court date and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest. He was taken into custody for the outstanding warrant Sunday while being interviewed by police after Antley's death.
It was not clear if Antley faced charges stemming from the September incident.
The world-famous jockey was found by his brother and a close friend late Saturday with a severe blunt-force wound to his head, police said. Detectives have launched an investigation, although they say they have no suspects and the coroner has not determined the cause of death.
On Monday afternoon, the gated gray home on Rosita Lane was blocked off with crime scene tape, with a Pasadena police car parked in front. The tree-lined street, scattered with leaves, was quiet.
Antley hadn't ridden since March and rarely left his home. Friends said the jockey sat on his couch watching television, struggling with bouts of depression and paranoia that he had suffered since he was a child.
But real estate agent Cathy Park, the friend who discovered his body Saturday night, said he was becoming more upbeat in recent days, looking forward to a new baby and spending the holidays with his family in South Carolina. Antley's wife, Natalie Jowett, who works for ABC and lives in New York, is expecting their baby in several weeks.
"He was realizing that the drinking was stupid and it was just making the depression worse," she said.
Park said she last saw Antley alive at 1:30 p.m. Saturday when she dropped off lunch for him. Park said she left to pick up his brother at the airport and do some Christmas shopping.
She returned with Antley's brother, Brian, about 11:30 p.m. and found the jockey lying dead in the hallway, she said.
"I was horrified," Park said. "We were both horrified."
