Backe, 2 others, plead to disorderly conduct

Former Houston Astros pitcher Brandon Backe and two others pleaded no contest to misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges, stemming from a 2008 post-wedding reception ruckus with police at an upscale bar, according to court documents.

Backe, 32, Christopher Cornwell, 28, and Calvin Silva, 22, appealed their misdemeanor charges of interfering with police from Galveston Municipal Court. The cases ended Wednesday with pleas in Galveston County Court No. 1, according to court records.

The defendants were given deferred adjudication, which means they were given probation. The probation, however, was listed as one day. The court order also considered the probation period to have ended, court documents revealed.

An Oct. 5, 2008, incident led 30 Galveston police officers to the San Luis Resort’s H2O bar and resulted in the arrests of 13 people, including a Federal Emergency Management Agency coordinator working on the island during the aftermath of Hurricane Ike’s landfall the previous month.

Messages left late Thursday afternoon for Backe, Silva and attorney Bob Moen, who handled the pleadings, weren’t returned. Cornwell declined to comment.

All charges were dismissed except for those against Backe, Cornwell, Silva and Daniel Cole O’Balle, the bride’s brother. O’Balle’s five felony charges were dismissed by a grand jury, which authorized a resisting arrest charge. O’Balle’s case hasn’t been resolved.

In Wednesday’s pleadings, Judge Mary Nell Crapitto accepted the disorderly conduct pleas. She ordered no jail time and one day deferred probation, according to court documents.

The defendants were given 30 days each to pay $1 in fines and $173.50 in court costs, at which point the cases would be closed. They also waived any right to appeal, according to court documents.

The city prosecutor dismissed the defendants’ failure to appear in court charges, which also were appealed, stemming from a hearing Dec. 15, 2008, according to court documents.