Print

Mail

wiki links

Bonds' trainer out of jail after legal mistake

Baseball star Barry Bonds' personal trainer Greg Anderson walked out of prison on Thursday, hours after a federal judge ordered him released because of a "legal snafu."

US District Judge William Alsup said Anderson must be freed because a federal appeals court hadn't affirmed the contempt order within the required 30 days after Anderson was jailed.

Anderson, 40, could be returned to prison if the appeals court affirms the Aug. 28 contempt citation.

The trainer has been imprisoned twice for refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating whether the San Francisco Giants slugger committed perjury when he said he never knowingly used steroids.

Bonds told a 2003 grand jury investigating BALCO that Anderson gave him what he believed to be flaxseed oil and arthritic balm. Anderson later pleaded guilty to distributing steroids and money laundering, serving three months in prison and three months' home detention.

Anderson's latest jail stint lasted 37 days. He also served 15 days in July and was released when the previous grand jury expired.

He has appealed his contempt of court jailing on several fronts. Anderson's main contention is that a secret, illegally-recorded tape of him discussing Bonds' steroid use is the basis for the grand jury questions he refuses to answer.

Prosecutors, however, say the tape is legal and was made in a face-to-face meeting with Anderson.
This story has been viewed 1446 times.