Grand slammer

Canseco jailed until July 21 hearing on alleged steroid use

Canseco was arrested at his South Florida home on Friday after evidence of steroids turned up in his urine. AP

MIAMI (AP) -- Former American League MVP Jose Canseco was sent to jail Monday for nearly a month until a hearing on whether he violated his probation by flunking a urine test for illegal steroids.

Canseco, 38, was held without bond until a July 21 hearing. He had been under house arrest for earlier violating probation for a nightclub brawl and was arrested Friday over the results of a drug test June 3.

"We told him that it was serious business," said an aggravated Circuit Judge Leonard Glick. He said house arrest was intended to be a "wake-up call so that people understand it's not just a thing where you do something when you feel like doing it."

Canseco was charged with his twin brother in a 2001 brawl at a Miami Beach club. He was placed on probation for three years after pleading guilty last year to felony aggravated battery and misdemeanor battery.

Canseco, who did not speak during the hearing, was downcast as he appeared in court in jail-issue red jumpsuit, white socks, black sandals and wrist and ankle shackles.

"Jose's only statement to me was, 'But I do take this seriously. I can't believe how this is spinning,'" said defense attorney Jayne Weintraub. She argued to the judge that the only reason he faced jail was because of his celebrity status.

Canseco was arrested a day after resolving a long-standing dispute with his ex-wife in California, allowing his preschool daughter to stay with him for a week. Glick said the best he could hope for was a 1- or 2-day jail furlough, but Weintraub said she doubted prosecutors would agree to it.

"If he was Jose Smith, I don't think he'd be here," Weintraub said outside court. "Jose was very disappointed and sad."

Glick ruled earlier this year that Canseco broke conditions of his probation by leaving Florida for several weeks and failing to start community service and anger management classes required as part of his sentence.

Weintraub said he has performed 120 of 250 hours of community service with the Boys Club of Miami and has completed the required class.

She formally denied the probation violation in court and said afterward, "There's always misunderstandings."

Canseco, who retired from baseball last year, was resentenced in March to 30 days in jail, two years of house arrest plus probation. The judge warned him then that any other violations could result in a 15-year state prison sentence.

While confined to his house, Canseco has charged people $2,500 each through his personal Web site to "Spend the Day with Jose." Autographed balls and posters also are for sale.

Canseco's twin, Ozzie, also is on probation for the melee. He was arrested last month in Punta Gorda in southwest Florida and charged with possessing an illegal anabolic steroid, driving with a revoked license and possession of drug paraphernalia.

He also is being jailed until the July 21 hearing before Glick. Ozzie had a brief major league career with Oakland and St. Louis.

Jose Canseco hit 462 home runs in his major league career, the 26th-best in history. He retired in May 2002 after 1,887 games with seven teams, finishing his career with a .266 batting average, 1,407 RBIs and 200 stolen bases.

Canseco was the 1988 American League MVP and helped lead the Oakland Athletics to three straight World Series appearances from 1988-90. Oakland won the 1989 series.

The 6-foot-4, 250-pound Canseco has admitted using steroids during his baseball career and claimed that 85 percent of all other major leaguers have taken the muscle-enhancing drugs. He announced plans to reveal baseball's steroid secrets in a still-unpublished book.

 

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