Jury finds Bonds guilty on 1 count
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Barry Bonds leaves federal court on Wednesday.
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SAN FRANCISCO -- Home-run king Barry Bonds was convicted Wednesday of obstruction of justice for impeding a grand jury investigation into illegal steroid distribution, closing a sordid chapter in a scandal that ensnared some of baseball's greatest players.
The verdict against the former San Francisco Giants star capped a nearly seven-year probe that focused on Mr. Bonds' denials under oath about knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs.
Mr. Bonds, 46, sat grim-faced showing no emotion when the verdict was read in a courtroom packed with reporters. The jury of eight women and four men, which began deliberating Friday morning, also deadlocked on three counts of perjury.
The trial culminates an era that saw the reputations of some of the nation's top athletes tarnished by disclosures of steroid and other drug use, and that forced professional sports to grapple with calls for reform.
Jurors said they concluded that Mr. Bonds had been evasive before the grand jury, but they disagreed on whether he had knowingly lied to the panel about using steroids or human growth hormones.
One juror, a 60-year-old engineer who identified himself as Steve, said he was glad that the trial had taken place because he has a daughter who plays soccer. "I'd like to see a level playing field," he said after the verdicts were read. The juror called the ballplayers who testified about their own drug use at the trial "true heroes. I believe there is one man who just couldn't do it because of who he is."
Other jurors questioned the government's case against the athlete.
"I think the government feeling was they had a really big fish with Bonds, and they wanted to finish what they started," said jury foreman Fred Jacob, 56. "Maybe they tried a little too hard to make him guilty."
Defense lawyers said they would ask to have the obstruction of justice count set aside. They questioned how a jury could have found that Mr. Bonds tried to impede an investigation without finding that he lied.
First Published April 14, 2011 12:00 am
