Last week, federal prosecutors reduced the number of felony charges pending against Barry Bonds from eleven to five. The charges stem from allegations that Bonds lied to a grand jury in 2007 about his purported past steroid use. Bonds has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has maintained his innocence throughout his entire baseball career and the pending criminal case. Bonds is a seven time Most Valuable Player and holds the all-time Major League Baseballhome run record with 762 home runs. The reduction of charges stem from Greg Anderson’s (Bonds’ former trainer) refusal to take the witness stand against Bonds. As a result, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston ruled the “so-called doping calendars” apparently discovered in Anderson’s home to be inadmissible at trial because of his refusal to authenticate the calendars at trial. Bonds is facing a potential ten-year sentence in prison for each of the nine remaining counts. Federal sentencing guideline for a first offense on these charges generally call for a total sentence of 15 to 21 months. Read More
