19th November 2007 03:16 PM |
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mojoman |
Mike Tyson Sentenced to 1 Day in Jail
By CHRIS KAHN – 1 hour ago
MESA, Ariz. (AP) — Mike Tyson was sentenced Monday to 24 hours in jail and three years' probation for cocaine possession and driving under the influence.
The former heavyweight champion had pleaded guilty in September to a single felony count of cocaine possession and a misdemeanor DUI count.
"I take responsibility for my actions," Tyson told Superior Court Judge Helene Abrams in an almost inaudible voice before she handed down the sentence.
Tyson, who will begin serving his jail time Tuesday morning, left the courthouse without speaking to reporters.
Tyson had faced a possible maximum sentence of four years and three months in prison. 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.
"Judge, by my calculations, this is his fourth or fifth chance," Krauser said.
The latest charges stemmed from a traffic stop in Scottsdale on Dec. 29 after the boxer had spent the evening at Scottsdale's Pussycat Lounge and was seen driving erratically. An officer said he saw Tyson wiping a white substance off the dashboard of his black BMW, and that his speech was slurred.
Authorities said they found bags of cocaine in Tyson's pocket and in his 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.
Since his arrest, Tyson checked himself into an inpatient treatment program for what his lawyer called "various addictions."
Tyson attorney David 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.
Two of Tyson's former wives also wrote letters to the court asking for leniency.
Abrams said Monday that she was impressed that Tyson was seeking therapy for his drug addiction. "You worked to address your addiction and self-destructive behavior," Abrams said.
In addition to probation, Tyson also will have to pay a fine and serve 360 hours of community service, including at least 20 hours per month.
County Attorney Andrew Thomas had said after the plea was entered that Tyson should be put in prison, noting that Tyson was convicted of rape in Indiana in 1992 and pleaded no contest to misdemeanor assault charges in Maryland in 1999.
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, 41, recently had been trying to revive his career with a series of boxing exhibitions
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19th November 2007 05:59 PM |
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glencar |
24 hours? Why bother? |
19th November 2007 06:15 PM |
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Gazza |
I know. Its not like he's at risk of being raped in the showers or anything. |
19th November 2007 07:03 PM |
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pdog |
quote: Gazza wrote:
I know. Its not like he's at risk of being raped in the showers or anything.
He's the raper... |
19th November 2007 07:15 PM |
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mojoman |
quote: pdog wrote:
He's the raper...
don't fear the raper |
20th November 2007 08:10 AM |
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guitarman53 |
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20th November 2007 10:44 AM |
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gypsy |
quote: guitarman53 wrote:
Now that was a champ.
Mike Tyson ruined boxing. |
20th November 2007 12:22 PM |
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Gazza |
quote: gypsy wrote:
Now that was a champ.
Mike Tyson ruined boxing.
Au contraire. Tyson resurrected it for a while. The sport needs a high profile heavyweight champ as it's 'figurehead'. Tyson was a great shot in the arm for the sport when he was managed by Bill Cayton and Jim Jacobs.
Don King then proceeded to ruin Tyson en route to ruining the entire sport (along with the various 'alphabet' organisations who made the sport a fucking joke by having so many world titles that almost anyone can win one if theyre managed well enough)
The hunger for power and money at all costs fucks many things up. Boxing has gone the way of most sports that way, as has the music industry. |
20th November 2007 12:42 PM |
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gypsy |
quote: Gazza wrote:
Au contraire. Tyson resurrected it for a while. The sport needs a high profile heavyweight champ as it's 'figurehead'. Tyson was a great shot in the arm for the sport when he was managed by Bill Cayton and Jim Jacobs.
Don King then proceeded to ruin Tyson en route to ruining the entire sport (along with the various 'alphabet' organisations who made the sport a fucking joke by having so many world titles that almost anyone can win one if theyre managed well enough)
The hunger for power and money at all costs fucks many things up. Boxing has gone the way of most sports that way, as has the music industry.
You're right. It saddens me though, that boxing isn't what it used to be. |
20th November 2007 01:05 PM |
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mojoman |
king=cohl? |
20th November 2007 01:28 PM |
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Gazza |
quote: gypsy wrote:
You're right. It saddens me though, that boxing isn't what it used to be.
me too |
20th November 2007 01:29 PM |
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Gazza |
quote: mojoman wrote:
king=cohl?
Cue Gottorollme's inspired King/Cohl photoshop... |
20th November 2007 06:36 PM |
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stonedinaustralia |
gypsy wrote:
Now that was a champ.
Mike Tyson ruined boxing.
quote: Gazza wrote:
Au contraire. Tyson resurrected it for a while. The sport needs a high profile heavyweight champ as it's 'figurehead'. Tyson was a great shot in the arm for the sport when he was managed by Bill Cayton and Jim Jacobs.
agreed gazza - no doubt tyson was more reminiscent of a frenzied shark than anything else - but at his peak he took the art to a new level of efficiency
"I just try to imagine i am punching their noses back up into their brains, ronnie"
[Edited by stonedinaustralia] |