Charges that Lenny Dykstra threatened to kill an Uber driver in a wild, late-night ride that ended at a police headquarters in New Jersey last year were dropped Friday after the former baseball great agreed to plead guilty to disorderly conduct.

Superior Court Judge Lisa Miralles Walsh reduced a charge of third-degree terroristic threats to a petty disorderly persons offense and dropped drug possession charges during a hearing in Union County.

Dykstra ‘s attorney, David Bahuriak, had argued a Linden police search of Dykstra’s belongings was improper and that there were no witnesses who could say Dykstra threatened the driver.

In exchange for his plea, Dykstra faces no jail time but will pay $125 in fines and court fees.

“My lawyer did a great job of presenting the facts,” said Dykstra, who appeared in a white, button-down shirt and red-white-and-blue striped tie. “I’m happy this chapter of my life is behind me.”

Dykstra also took a shot at Uber, saying if they had performed a background check on driver Brian Lutty, they would have found the owner of Linden Yellow Cab stopped using his services due to multiple complaints from passengers and dispatchers.

“This cost me potentially millions of dollars in all kinds of things,” Dykstra said, pointing out that he had been trying to develop a reality TV show with Amazon. The deal was dropped after the Uber incident, he said.

“I hope you have learned a lesson from this," Judge Walsh said. "I wish you the best of luck.”

Dykstra also thanked his friend Daniel Risis of Passaic, owner of Perfect Pawn, who he said supported him emotionally and financially.

“Without his help, I wouldn’t have been able to retain the skilled lawyer I had in David Bahuriak,” Dykstra said.

Lutty, who did not attend court, said by phone Friday that it was important that Dykstra pleaded guilty, even if it was a petty charge.

“He has admitted to what he did in my car,” Lutty, 48, said. “He was screaming and yelling like a madman and causing a disturbance in my car and in public.”

Outside court, Bahuriak said the prosecution‘s case just didn’t add up.

“I think the state has finally realized there were credibility issues here,” Bahuriak said.

Dykstra was arrested at Linden police headquarters on May 23, 2018 after Lutty told police the former baseball great threatened him with a gun.

After a search of his bags, police charged Dykstra with possession of cocaine and methamphetamine and making terroristic threats. Dykstra was indicted on those charges last fall.

In a statement to police, Lutty said that after he picked up his fare, the two argued over the destination and that Dykstra put a black or “bluish attache case” to his head and threatened to kill him. Dykstra wanted to go to Staten Island, but the driver said the Uber app showed a destination in Clark.

“He told me he was going to shoot me and put (the bag) to the back of my head,” Lutty said, according to a police body camera recording outside police headquarters.

At Friday’s hearing, Bahuriak submitted two length motions – one asking the judge to suppress evidence and the other to dismiss the entire case. In the motion to dismiss, Bahuriak argued common sense would dictate that Dykstra was the victim since he was the one who called 911.

A transcript of the Oct. 9, 2018 grand jury proceedings obtained by NJ Advance Media shows that jurors did not get to hear Dykstra’s frantic 911 calls.

In the calls, Dykstra tells a police dispatcher that he’s been kidnapped. “He kidnapped me in the car,” Dykstra says repeatedly.

At one point, Dykstra reacts to the driver’s apparent accusation that he has a weapon.

“Gun? What are you talking about gun?” he said. “This guy’s out of his mind.”

Bahuriak stated in the motion that the prosecutor and grand jury had an obligation under state constitution “to protect an innocent person from prosecution.”

“The mission of the grand jury is to clear the innocent, no less than to bring to trial those who may be guilty,” the defense attorney wrote.

Bahuriak’s motion to suppress stated that police searches of Dykstra’s belongings were unconstitutional because Dykstra had rescinded consent.

Even if Dykstra had consented, the search was illegal because officers did not tell Dykstra “that he had the right to refuse consent,” the attorney wrote.

Bahuriak also stated the search was improper because it took place after Dykstra had been led away in handcuffs.

Prior case law states the search of a bag in a car outside the presence of the suspect is improper, the attorney stated.

While the search for a gun may have been admissible, a search of Dykstra’s toiletry bag and a pill bottle were not, the attorney said.

Police said they found a small amount of cocaine, marijuana and a glass pipe among Dykstra’s belongings.

A charge Dykstra pursed against Lutty for false imprisonment was still pending Friday in Union County Superior Court, but was expected to be returned to municipal court or be dismissed altogether, officials said on Friday.

The criminal case against Dykstra was only one of the legal issues facing the former ballplayer in New Jersey. He still must answer to a summons that he and his business Titan Equity LLC have been running an illegal rooming house out of his home on a quiet cul-de-sac in Linden.

That case is scheduled to be heard in Linden Municipal Court later this month.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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