Feds Charge Bonds With 14 Counts Of Perjury

SOURCE: KUTV 2 News ~ Complete Bay Area News Coverage

SAN FRANCISCO -- Federal prosecutors Tuesday re-filed an indictment against former San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds, charging him with 14 counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice surrounding his testimony in the BALCO Steroid Case.

The new indictment broke down every individual statement prosecutors claim was falsely made during his days testifying before the grand jury, increasingly the number in the original perjury indictment from four to 14.

A June 6th hearing was scheduled at which time Bonds would be required to enter a plea.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston had told prosecutors on Feb. 29 to fix their original indictment because it lumped multiple allegations into too few counts.

Illston said that prosecutors needed to drop some of the allegations from the indictment or add more charges.

Nine people connected to the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO, have pleaded guilty or been convicted of drug charges or perjury, including track legend Marion Jones who admitted lying to investigators about using steroids.

Tammy Thomas, an elite cyclist, was convicted about three weeks ago of three counts perjury and one count of obstruction. She is scheduled to be sentenced July 18.

Bonds was indicted in November on four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice, charges stemming from 2003 grand-jury testimony in which he denied knowingly taking illegal performance-enhancing drugs.

Bonds was let go by the San Francisco Giants. The 43-year-old outfielder remains a free agent and wants to play this year.

"I'm not going to retire. I don't think that's going to happen," he told MLB.com. "I'm working out. I'm training. If my phone rings, it rings. If it don't, it don't. I have a cell phone."

"I have a Blackberry. They work. If something comes up, I'm sure they'll let me know. I'll come back in July if I have to. It depends on the circumstances."