Updated at 9:10 a.m., Thursday, April 12, 2007
Tyson trial on drug charges set for Aug. 20
Associated Press
MESA, Ariz. — Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson appeared in court today and was given an Aug. 20 trial date on charges of drug possession and driving under the influence of drugs.Tyson, fresh out of a stint in a California rehabilitation facility, said little during the short procedural hearing. His attorney, Richard Schonfeld said the 40-year-old Tyson has been sober for 72 days.
The charges stem from Tyson's arrest Dec. 29 in Scottsdale. Tyson, a resident of Paradise Valley, was pulled over after leaving a nightclub, and an officer found bags of cocaine in his back pocket and another in a pack of cigarettes in his car, according to court records.
Tyson pleaded not guilty on Jan. 22 in Maricopa County Superior Court to felony drug possession and paraphernalia possession counts and two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence of drugs.
Schonfeld asked for and received a 30-day delay in the trial because he hadn't seen all the state's evidence in the case.
County Attorney Andrew Thomas has said Tyson has run out of second chances, and prosecutors will pursue prison time. If convicted on all four charges, Tyson could be imprisoned as long as 7½ years.
Tyson was convicted of rape in Indiana in 1992 and pleaded no contest to misdemeanor assault charges in Maryland in 1999.
Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history at 20 in 1986, when he knocked out Trevor Berbick. Four years later, he was knocked out by James ''Buster'' Douglas. By 1997, Tyson's career hit a low point when he bit Evander Holyfield's ear during a fight.
