Barry Bonds Avoids Jail Time, Is Sentenced To Probation, House Arrest

Eight months after a jury found Bonds guilty of obstruction of justice and was deadlocked on three counts of perjury, the US government attorneys and Barry Bonds’ attorneys convened one last time in Courtroom 10 of the Phillip Burton Federal Building in San Francisco. In a case that was marred by bickering between the two sides, it was fitting that there was one last contentious moment to close the trial.

Prior to this final hearing, the United States Probation Office submitted a pre-sentence report with an assessment of the facts of the case and a suggested sentence of 15-21 months probation with a short period of house arrest, community service and a fine. Both sides filed their own subsequent sentencing memoranda with their suggested sentence. Bonds’ attorneys agreed with the pre-sentence report while the government attorneys asked for 15 months in prison.

Here’s what you get from a half crazy-eyed, half clear-thinking baseball fan who’s just seen one of his once-favorite players avoid a stint in the clink:

When I was in high school, one of my favorite players — along with a few of his teammates — was actually sent to prison for using drugs. I don’t recall cheering for him any less, upon his return.

Additionally, Bonds was fined $4,000 and a $100 special assessment. Bonds’ attorneys indicated they will appeal the sentence and requested the house arrest be stayed pending the appeal. The judge agreed and the appeal will be filed Friday.

The government attempted to argue that Bonds deserved some form of imprisonment and requested that he be required to acknowledge his guilt. They pointed to Marion Jones’ prison sentence and other sentences, but those involved convictions on more serious charges. They pointed to Bonds lying, but that did not apply as the three perjury charges were dismissed. Accordingly, Judge Illston stuck with the presentence report that suggested probation and house arrest.

In April, Bonds was found guilty of obstruction of justice as it related to comments he made to the BALCO grand jury. His guilt was based on his rambling testimony nine years ago and has generated plenty of debate over the merits of the conviction. The Bonds case went to the jury on three counts of a false declaration (perjury) and one count of obstruction of justice. The jury was hung on the three counts of false declaration but found Bonds guilty of obstruction of justice. The jury voted 11-1 and 9-3 on two of the perjury charges, but even with that, the government elected not to pursue a new trial.

The United States Probation Office filed a pre-sentence report with the court and suggested a sentence of 15-21 months of probation with a monitoring device. This would equate to what is commonly known as “house arrest.” This would also fall in line with the sentences Judge Illston has imposed in the prior BALCO cases over which she presided.

There is no word as to whether the prosecution will seek to retry Bonds on the three counts that were declared a mistrial, though it’s possible that the lopsided (but not unanimous) jury vote on the second count might embolden such an effort.

The next hearing is scheduled for May 20.

Snap analysis: An odd verdict. Basically got Bonds for rambling and avoiding questions and maybe being less than truthful.The specific charge that Bonds was found guilty of was Statement C of Count Five:

That statement is what the jury found to be obstructive enough for Bonds to be convicted, though there is no explanation yet as to why, if Bonds obstructed justice with that statement, that didn’t translate into a guilty verdict for one of the charges of perjury as well.

And we have a resolution to the Barry Bonds trial, of sorts. After a confusing Wednesday afternoon in which we were told that a verdict had been reached, and then that a verdict had not been reached, it turned out that a partial verdict was reached, and the jury has found Bonds guilty of obstruction of justice.

In other words, Bonds was found guilty on count 5, while the jury was split on the others - those being the perjury counts. Bonds reportedly had a stoic response, and the jury was released back into the wild.

It’s been an interesting day in the Barry Bonds trial. After days of deliberation, an announcement came out that the jury had reached a verdict. This set a whole avalanche of things in motion, what with the end suddenly coming into view.

Then the court amended its statement and said a verdict had not been reached. Oh, the embarrassment!

In the Barry Bonds Trial, the closing arguments have been heard and the lawyer work is done. It’s all up to the jury now to deliberate and come to a verdict. For two days now, the jury has done plenty of deliberating. It’s the verdict part that’s been so tough for them.

To help them possibly come to a decision, the panel of eight women and four men spent the morning hearing Kathy Hoskins’ testimony being read to them by a court reporter. Hoskins was the only person who said she saw Bonds being injected by Greg Anderson, his former trainer.

BREAKING NEWS: Barry Bonds’ judge orders Greg Anderson released from prison ... more to comeAnderson was first locked up for refusing to testify before a Federal grand jury in 2006, claiming that the subpoena to testify violated a plea bargain agreement in the BALCO case. Since then, Anderson has been in and out of prison for refusing to help the government’s case. His latest incarceration began March 22, when Bonds’ perjury trial began.

Much of the government’s case rested on secret recordings of Anderson and Bonds’ former friend and assistant, Steve Hoskins, but Anderson’s refusal to corroborate the validity of the tapes weakened the prosecution’s efforts.

We’re almost there! We’re so close you guys!

The Barry Bonds trial has now advanced to pretty much the final stage - jury deliberations, as the closing arguments have been heard. The lawyer work is done.

The Barry Bonds trial is just about in the hands of the jury, now. All that was left for them to do before beginning deliberation was hearing the closing arguments from both sides, which are being presented on Thursday.

The prosecution went first, with Jeff Nedrow handling the duties. Nedrow began by saying that all Bonds had to do was tell the truth to the grand jury, which the prosecution alleges he did not. Nedrow set about discussing the testimony of the government’s witnesses, highlighting the implausibility of a player like Bonds not knowing what he was putting in his body. He also talked about Greg Anderson being a known steroid dealer, and pointed to the testimony of former players who took substances given to them by Anderson, understanding them to be undetectable steroids.

Wednesday has turned out to be an easy day in the Barry Bonds trial, because it’s already over! After suggesting they might call Steve Hoskins and even Barry Bonds himself, the defense wound up resting without calling a single witness.

There were some other legal matters that got taken care of. For one thing, the prosecution dropped one of its four perjury counts against Bonds, pertaining to allegations that Bonds lied about using the cream and the clear prior to 2003. The defense had argued that the prosecution didn’t present sufficient evidence, and so the government has dropped it altogether rather than try to argue otherwise. Bonds now faces three counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice.

Earlier on Tuesday in the Barry Bonds trial, judge Illston ruled that Steve Hoskins’ tape of a recorded conversation between himself and Dr. Arthur Thing was inadmissible as evidence. That was a big break for the defense.

After that, the courtroom read Bonds’ grand jury testimony aloud. Once that was concluded, the prosecution rested its case and turned things over to the defense. At that point, the jurors were sent home for the day so that the various lawyers could talk about lawyery things.

After a Monday hiccup, the Barry Bonds trial is back on Tuesday morning, which is good news for all of us, since moving forward is the only way to reach the end.

Some lab workers have been called to testify about how Bonds’ urine sample was handled during the testing process in 2006. This was the sample that tested positive for THG, or “the clear”. It was also a sample that tested positive for clomid, which is used as a masking agent. This is an important point. It would be difficult for Bonds’ team to argue the slugger didn’t know what he was taking if he was also taking a masking agent. The positive clomid result hasn’t yet been admitted as evidence, but the judge says that it probably will be soon, and at that point it will be up to the defense to argue that the test wasn’t up to the stands of the scientific community. Bonds’ sample was only tested once, where it’s normal protocol for a positive result to be confirmed with a second test.

On Monday, we thought we’d pick up where we left off in the Barry Bonds trial with anti-doping expert Don Catlin on the stand as the prosecution’s final witness. However! A wrench has been thrown into the mix - one juror is out with kidney stones (or gall stones, or something). They keep alternate jurors around for situations such as this, but the court has evidently decided to more or less just take the day off and re-evaluate the situation on Tuesday. The lawyers didn’t want to replace the missing juror with one of the backups.

But that doesn’t mean we don’t have a little news. For one thing, judge Illston is considering a defense motion to review whether or not the prosecution failed to turn over some relevant evidence (such as the fact that Kimberly Bell kept two separate diaries). And for another thing, witness Steve Hoskins has apparently located a tape on which he recorded a conversation between himself and Dr. Arthur Ting. You’ll recall that Ting contradicted Hoskins’ testimony that he had about 50 conversations with Ting about Bonds and steroids, saying no such conversations ever took place. But Hoskins now claims to have proof that the two spoke about the subject matter at least once. Hoskins had said earlier that he had a tape but couldn’t find it. Now, it seems, he’s found it.

The Barry Bonds trial has again gone dark for the week, and will reconvene next Monday morning. But Thursday was not without its intrigue.

Earlier, Dr. Arthur Ting’s testimony destroyed previous testimony by Steve Hoskins, as Bonds’ former orthopedic surgeon said he only spoke once with Hoskins, and didn’t provide any information on steroids to take back to the player. That was a big win for the defense.

Back with more from the Barry Bonds trial! Who cares about Opening Day, anyway?

On the trial’s last day this week - remember that the courtroom is dark on Friday - the government has so far called Dr. Arthur Thing and Kathy Hoskins to the stand. Ting is Bonds’ former orthopedic surgeon, and Hoskins is Bonds’ former personal shopper, and sister of witness Steve Hoskins.

On we go with the Barry Bonds trial. But I have good news! The thing may only go on a little while longer, as the prosecution has pared down its witness list.

Earlier today, we left off with a laboratory worker on the stand. The government called a few more lab workers as witnesses in the afternoon, establishing that Bonds’ urine sample was handled appropriately from start to finish. The prosecution then informed the jury that Bonds’ sample tested positive for THG, to which Bonds had previously admitted. The issue isn’t that he tested positive; it’s that he allegedly didn’t know what substances he was taking at the time.

The Barry Bonds trial continues on, and while you and I may be running out of steam, we’ve still got a couple weeks to go. Here’s to justice!

Tuesday’s action ended with former Giants player Marvin Benard on the stand, so he returned for cross-examination on Wednesday morning. Benard had said that Greg Anderson told him he was providing an “undetectable steroid,” but Bonds’ lawyer Allen Ruby questioned whether Anderson had used those specific words. Ruby’s trying to establish that players may not have known exactly what they were being given.

In discussing the Barry Bonds trial earlier Tuesday, we left off with former Giants trainer Stan Conte. So let’s pick up!

Bonds’ defense team began its cross-examination of Conte in earnest after lunch, and took time to focus on his split with Bonds, during which Conte told Bonds he should look elsewhere for his rehab. Allen Ruby also showed Conte a letter from Bonds’ doctor written in late 2003 that said the player was in great health.

Nothing but non-stop excitement in the Barry Bonds trial. Bonds’ former mistress Kimberly Bell was dismissed from the stand on Monday, but by no means did that mark the end of the fun.

The first witness called to the stand Tuesday morning was Barry Sample, an expert in drug testing. Sample wasn’t up there long, and spoke about how MLB’s drug testing program was carried out in 2003. It was noted that a Bonds urine sample didn’t test positive for anything in 2003, but did test positive for THG when re-tested by another lab at a later date.

The Barry Bonds trial resumed on Monday morning by calling former Bonds mistress Kimberly Bell to the stand. The early part of the morning was spent with Bell explaining the history of her relationship with Bonds, and discussing various changes she observed in him both phsically and psychologically.

Bell was then subjected to cross-examination from Cristina Aguedas, and this grew to be borderline hostile, as Arguedas set about attempting to undermine the witness and paint her as a bitter, jealous ex. Arguedas attacked Bell’s motives for trying to write a book about Bonds before the lunch break, and when the trial resumed, Arguedas hardly missed a beat, continuing to pound away. Arguedas suggested that Bell grew increasingly resentful over the course of the relationship as Bonds got married to another woman and pushed Bell to the side.

We’re back! We’re back to the Barry Bonds trial, everybody! After a long weekend, the trial picked up where it left off on Monday morning, and now we’re getting to the good stuff, by which I mean the stuff that nobody wants to hear about ever.

First, long-time Giants equipment manager Mike Murphy took the stand and nervously testified that Bonds’ hat size increased by a small amount around 2002, which the government wants to pin on the use of HGH. Bonds’ attorney Allen Ruby asserted that a bigger size could’ve had to do with simple aging and weight gain.