Tyson gets 24 hours in jail

[broncofan]

Tyson gets 24 hours in jail, probation for drug possession, DUI

MESA, Ariz. -- Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson could have received more than four years in prison when he was sentenced for cocaine possession and driving under the influence but he walked out of a courtroom Monday on probation.

"I take responsibility for my actions," Mike Tyson said in court Monday before being sentenced to 24 hours in jail and three years probation.

Prosecutors had argued that Tyson should be behind bars, given his violent criminal past. But Superior Court Judge Helene Abrams said she was impressed with how the boxer has tried to atone following a Dec. 29 incident in which he was arrested after almost hitting a sheriff's deputy's vehicle.

"You worked to address your addiction and self-destructive behavior," Abrams said before sentencing Tyson to three years of probation for the cocaine charge and one day in jail for the DUI. Tyson also will have to pay a fine, submit to drug testing and serve 360 hours of community service.

"I take responsibility for my actions," Tyson, 41, told the judge. He left the courthouse flanked by his supporters, lit a cigar and drove away in the back of a black Mercedes.

He will begin serving time Tuesday morning in Tent City, Maricopa County's infamous open-air jail near a dog pound and a trash dump. Sheriff Joe Arpaio said in a written statement that Tyson will wear the standard-issue pink underwear and black-and-white striped uniform. He'll stay in an unoccupied area, apart from Tent City's 1,500 other inmates.

Tyson visited juvenile inmates in Tent City in 1999, telling them to stay out of trouble. "Apparently he didn't listen to his own advice," Arpaio said.

Tyson, who used to live in Paradise Valley, Ariz., was spotted driving erratically last year after leaving Scottsdale's Pussycat Lounge. An officer said he saw Tyson wiping a white substance off the dashboard of his black BMW, and that his speech was slurred.

Police found bags of cocaine in his pocket and in the car.

Tyson told officers later that he used cocaine "whenever I can get my hands on it," and that he preferred to smoke it in Marlboro cigarettes with the tobacco pulled out, according to court documents. He also told police that he used marijuana that day and was taking the antidepressant Zoloft, the documents state.

In September, Tyson pleaded guilty to a single felony count of cocaine possession and a misdemeanor DUI count.

Prosecutor Shane Krauser had recommended one year in prison Monday, saying that Tyson was a multiple offender who previously had been convicted of a violent crime and that only now has he sought treatment for his drug addiction.

He pointed out that Tyson was convicted of rape in Indiana in 1992 and pleaded no contest to misdemeanor assault charges in Maryland in 1999.

"Judge, by my calculations, this is his fourth or fifth chance," Krauser said.

County Attorney Andrew Thomas said he was disappointed by the sentence. "His intentional criminal conduct seriously endangered the public," Thomas said in a written statement.

Since his arrest, Tyson checked himself into an inpatient treatment program in California for what his lawyer called "various addictions." Attorney David Chesnoff has described the Dec. 29 arrest as a victimless crime that hurt only Tyson.

In court, Chesnoff said his client had taken 29 drug tests without a relapse since his arrest and that he's attended Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings. He told Abrams that Tyson had become an example of how one overcomes problems with drugs, a violent past and poor upbringing.

"He's tried his hardest despite coming from almost impossible beginnings," Chesnoff said.

Numerous supporters of Tyson joined him in court Monday, including Tyson's former wife, Monica Turner, and people who worked at the California drug treatment clinic, Chesnoff said.

In 1986, Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history when, at 20, he knocked out Trevor Berbick. He lost his title four years later when he was knocked out by James "Buster" Douglas. By 1997, Tyson's career hit a low point when he bit Evander Holyfield's ear during a fight.

Tyson recently had been trying to revive his career with a series of boxing exhibitions.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

[Beam&Coke]

That is like a walk in the park for a hardened criminal like Tyson.

[NWOWolfpack]

That is like a walk in the park for a hardened criminal like Tyson.

I was hoping Tyson, Simpson & Bonds could all share a cell in some new reality tv show!!