Mike Tyson sentenced to 1 day in jail

Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson was sentenced to 24 hours in jail and three years' probation for drug possession and driving under the influence in the south-western US state of Arizona.

Photo: Mike Tyson sentenced to 1 day in jail

Tyson had pleaded guilty in September to cocaine possession and driving under the influence.

He faced a maximum of four years and three months in prison.

Police pulled Tyson's car over at a junction in Scottsdale last December after the boxer had spent the evening at a local venue known as the Pussycat Lounge.

An officer said he saw Tyson wiping a white substance off the dashboard of his black BMW, and that his speech was slurred.

Authorities said they found bags of cocaine in Tyson's pocket and in his car, the AP reports.

There were 2.16 grams of cocaine in several bags in his possession at the time and traces of marijuana in his system, prosecutors told the court in September.

Prosecutors had sought one year in prison for the former fighter, saying he was a repeat offender with a violent past and that the court needed to send a strong message.

County Attorney Andrew Thomas said he was disappointed in the judge's ruling.

"His intentional criminal conduct seriously endangered the public," said Thomas, in a prepared statement. "DUI is a very serious offense which too often results in death or injury to others."

Tyson attorneys had argued for probation because he had admitted his mistakes and was trying to battle his addictions.

Since his arrest, Tyson had undergone treatment at a California rehabilitation center and worked with children preaching a message of staying sober and keeping off drugs. His attorney said in court he had passed 29 straight drug tests, Reuters reports.

"If you do good deeds and you help other people recover, alternatives to imprisonment are the better route," attorney David Chesnoff said outside the courthouse.

Tyson left the court without speaking to reporters. He will report to jail on Tuesday morning, his attorney said.

Sources: agencies