Reincarceration?
Probation report could lead to jail for Tyson
Posted: Thursday December 03, 1998 07:30 PM
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An apparent violation of his probation may land Tyson back in prison after his no-contest plea to misdemeanor assault charges AP |
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Mike Tyson's probation officer will file court papers by Monday that could lead to the former heavyweight champion returning to prison.
George Walker, the chief probation officer for Marion Superior Court, said Thursday it appears Tyson violated terms of his probation as a result of his no-contest plea to misdemeanor assault charges in Maryland on Tuesday.
Tyson served three years on a 10-year sentence in Indiana for raping a beauty pageant contestant. He was convicted in 1992, and his probation expires in March.
Judge Patricia Gifford, who presided at Tyson's trial and will decide if Tyson violated his probation, was out of her office Thursday and unavailable for comment.
"The judge can do everything from nothing all the way to imposing the originally suspended sentence, and anything in between," Walker said. The judge also could modify the sentence or place new conditions on Tyson's probation.
The prospect of Tyson going to prison again comes as he nears a return to the ring. He has a fight planned for January 16 against Francois Botha in Las Vegas, his first bout since his boxing license was revoked for biting Evander Holyfield's ears during a 1997 title fight. He was reinstated by Nevada authorities in October.
Walker said his petition would not be a recommendation regarding possible prison time for Tyson.
"What we actually say on the petition is to give the facts, the facts we all read in the paper," Walker said. "We want to go ahead and get this on the record. ... We bring it to the court's attention, and then all the legal stuff kicks in."
Tyson's probation was reviewed last year after the Holyfield bout, but no action was taken.
Tyson is undergoing psychiatric treatment, one of the conditions that led to reinstatement of his license by the Nevada Athletic Commission.
The two men Tyson scuffled with in Maryland already have reached a settlement with the boxer to avoid a civil suit. However, the Montgomery County, Maryland, prosecutor wants jail time on the criminal charges. Sentencing is to come early next year but an exact date has not been set.
Walker and Beverly Phillips, a spokeswoman for the Marion County Prosecutor's Office, said the probation question was complicated by Tyson's no-contest plea in Maryland. Indiana has no provision for such a plea.
"There are legal issues to research, and we think it would be wise to wait and see what happens with his sentencing in Maryland," Phillips said Thursday.
Although the no-contest plea was not an admission of guilt, Tyson could face up to 20 years in prison -- 10 years on each count. He also could be fined up to $5,000.
Tyson told the judge he didn't expect leniency or a lighter sentence in return for the no-contest plea, and he was aware it could affect his probation.
Steve Johnson, executive director of the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council, said probation could be revoked even if Tyson has not been convicted in Maryland.
"Good behavior is always a condition of probation," Johnson said. "A no-contest plea would not necessarily preclude a revocation of probation if evidence were brought to Judge Gifford that a criminal act had occurred."
Johnson said judges routinely warn offenders that they need not be convicted of another offense to risk being sent back to jail.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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