Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson was sentenced to
one day in jail instead of four years, for cocaine possession and
driving under the influence, media reported Tuesday.
The 41-year-old boxer who had pleaded guilty in September to a
single felony count of cocaine possession and a misdemeanor DUI
count will begin serving his jail time Tuesday morning.
"I take responsibility for my actions," Tyson told Superior
Court Judge Helene Abrams.
In addition to the jail time, he was also ordered to serve three
years' probation on each count, pay a fine, submit to drug testing
and perform 360 hours of community service.
Tyson, the "Iron Mike," was arrested on Dec. 29 after he had
spent the evening at a night club in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was
seen driving erratically and almost collided with a police vehicle.
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 2.16 grams of cocaine in several
bags 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.
Prosecutors had sought one year in prison for the boxer, saying
he was a repeat offender with a violent past and that the court
needed to send a strong message.
County Attorney Andrew Thomas said he was disappointed in the
judge's ruling.
"His intentional criminal conduct seriously endangered the
public," said Thomas, in a prepared statement.
"DUI is a very serious offense which too often results in death
or injury to others."
Tyson attorneys had argued for probation because he had admitted
his mistakes and was trying to battle his addictions. He had passed
29 straight drug tests, said his attorneys.
Tyson, who became the youngest heavyweight champion in history
at 20, spent three years in an Indiana prison following a 1992 rape
conviction and another spell in jail for two misdemeanor assault
charges in Maryland in 1999.
His career hit a low point when he bit Evander Holyfield's ear
during a fight in 1997.
Recently the former fighter had been trying to revive his career
with a series of boxing exhibitions.
(Xinhua News Agency via Agencies November 20, 2007)