Barry Bonds' Steroid Saga Nears Climax

by julianw | June 6, 2008 at 01:26 pm

955 views | 10 Recommendations | 13 comments

The complicated trial of Barry Bonds took another turn today, as the career home-run leader pled not guilty to charges of lying under oath, paving the way for a final hearing on March 2, 2009.

Barry Bonds is scheduled to stand trial on March 2, 2009, after pleading not guilty Friday to 14 charges of making false statements under oath about whether he used performance-enhancing drugs and one charge of obstruction of justice.

The charges against Bonds, baseball’s career home run leader, stem from statements he made in 2003 in a federal investigation.
The 15 counts supersede last year’s five-count indictment; his defense team had challenged that indictment, and United States district Judge Susan Illston had agreed that the original five counts were “unnecessiarly cumbersome and complicated.” The government responded by filing the new indictment, but none of the counts concern different testimony than in the original charges.

For each of the 14 counts of making a false statement, Bonds faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. For the one count of obstruction of justice he faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and an additional $250,000 fine.

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BigT

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 16:52 on June 6th, 2008

julianw, thanks for telling us that the steroid saga is nearing its climax. But can Barry...

MarkPritchard

at 20:45 on June 6th, 2008

As Barry Bonds takes left field in his last game, Sep. 26, 2007 at AT&T Park in San Francisco, a full moon rises over the bleachers.

MarkPritchard has contributed a photo to this story.

jhietter

at 21:32 on June 6th, 2008

Hoping to tie the home run record, Barry swings for a foul ball.

jhietter has contributed a photo to this story.

Travler08

at 06:37 on June 7th, 2008

Dear Julianw:

Just want say thank you for publishing my photo with Barry Bonds Steroid Sega Near Climax.

Adam

Travler08

petebeck

at 07:53 on June 7th, 2008

"His neck remains incredibly thick, suggesting, but not proving, that he took steroids." are you kidding? that's just conjecture, it doesn't prove anything. like him or not, in this country we are all innocent until proven guilty. this article is not good journalism -- i'm sorry, you cannot use my images for your story.

DJ Solitaire

at 12:06 on June 7th, 2008

Fireworks at AT&T Park in celebration of Barry Bonds passing Babe Ruth to become 2nd on the all-time home run hitters list.

DJ Solitaire has contributed a photo to this story.

julianw

at 11:54 on June 8th, 2008

petebeck, I intended that sentence as a joke, but you're right -- it was in bad taste. I removed it from the story.

Rajiv's View

at 20:14 on June 8th, 2008

Barry Bonds at bat at AT&T Park as he drives to break Hank Aaron's home run record in 2007.

Rajiv's View has contributed a photo to this story.

Aunti Juli

at 11:23 on June 9th, 2008

August 24, 2007: Barry Bonds Day celebration at San Francisco's Embarcadero drew local celebrities and media.

Aunti Juli has contributed a photo to this story.

dj32dj32

at 12:37 on June 9th, 2008

Barry Bonds strolling to his outfield position in a game against Philadelphia Phillies.

dj32dj32 has contributed a photo to this story.

ShayPoolman

at 13:17 on June 9th, 2008

Each and every time the Giants took the field, the crowd would chant "Barry, Barry". He never so much as smiled or waved. His demeanor was that of arrogance.

ShayPoolman has contributed a photo to this story.

WiseGuides

at 11:09 on June 10th, 2008

I agreed to the use of this photo but I do have some licensing concerns. MLB ultimately must approve use of such images if you're not an accredited news agency, correct? Not that they'll likely notice, but I was just wondering if you've explored this issue for your site?

fansherpa has contributed a photo to this story.

rdpurdie

at 12:59 on July 5th, 2008

Barry had not yet broken The Record when I took this at Pac Bell Park (I don't care what they're calling it now). I don't remember either if it was late '06 or early '07, but the ball is leaving his bat and will splash in McCovey Cove. Too bad it was about 40 ft. foul.

rdpurdie has contributed a photo to this story.