Tyson could end up back in prison

INDIANAPOLIS — Mike Tyson’s scrape with two motorists in Maryland could land him back in an Indiana prison and force cancellation of his fight in Nevada.

George Walker, the chief probation officer for Marion Superior Court, said Thursday it appears the former heavyweight boxing champion violated terms of his probation as a result of his no-contest plea to misdemeanor assault charges 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.

Walker said he planned to wait for paperwork from Maryland court officials before filing a petition.

Four years of Tyson’s rape sentence were suspended, and Tyson served half of the remaining six years before being released from the Indiana Youth Center west of Indianapolis on March 25, 1995. The sentence was reduced by three years for good behavior.

Judge Patricia Gifford, who presided at Tyson’s trial, 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 He has a fight planned for Jan. 16 against Francois Botha in Las Vegas, his first bout since his boxing license was revoked for biting Evander Holyfield’s ears during a 1997 title fight.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 for or against more 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 pleaded no contest to misdemeanor assault charges alleging he kicked and punched two drivers who were involved in a minor accident with Tyson’s wife, Monica, in the Washington suburb of Gaithersburg, Md., on Aug. 31.

The two already have reached a settlement with Tyson to avoid a civil suit. However, the Maryland prosecutor wants jail time on the criminal charges. A sentencing date has not been set.

In Indiana, a jury convicted Tyson of raping Desiree Washington. He met the Miss Black America contestant at a pageant rehearsal in Indianapolis in July 1991 and took her back to his hotel room.

Both 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 Tuesday’s 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 in Indiana.

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.

Walker said his petition will be the first alleging Tyson has violated his Indiana probation. It 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 boxing license by the Nevada Athletic Commission in October.

Associated Press