Baseball's Barry Bonds Pleads Not Guilty

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A nearby tire store's marquee read: "Say it ain't so, Barry."

Bonds faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the obstruction of justice count, and five years for perjury and a $250,000 fine, although it's considered unlikely that he would receive such a long sentence. His bond was set at $500,000 by U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James. He was expected to be fingerprinted today and to have a mug shot made.

One of his attorneys, Mike Rains, says his client is innocent and accused prosecutors of leaking the November 15 indictment to "every media outlet in the nation" before Bonds' defense attorneys saw it. According to CNN, part of the indictment reads:

"During the criminal investigation, evidence was obtained including positive tests for the presence of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing substances for Bonds and other professional athletes."

Bonds testified before a grand jury in December 2003, denying that he took steroids in 2001 while pursuing the single-season home run record. He was granted immunity with the exception of:

"...perjury, false declaration or otherwise failing to comply with the court's order."

Greg Anderson, Bonds' personal trainer, was freed from prison by a federal judge hours after the indictment was made public. Anderson admitted to distributing steroids but was jailed because he wouldn't cooperate with prosecutors about whether Bonds lied under oath to the grand jury. Anderson injected Bonds with steroids; Bonds is charged with lying about the injections.

Bonds, who broke Hank Aaron's record in early August when he hit his 762nd home run, has been dogged by rumours of drug use which have overshadowed his athletic achievements. Giants owner Peter Magowan told Bonds that he wouldn't be returning for a 16th season and Bonds is now a free agent.