Pubdate: Wed, 12 Mar 2003
Source: Virginian-Pilot (VA)
Copyright: 2003, The Virginian-Pilot
Contact:  http://www.pilotonline.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/483
Author: Jon Frank 

''SWEETPEA'' GETS 27-MONTH TERM

VIRGINIA BEACH -- Six-time world boxing champion Pernell ''Sweetpea''
Whitaker was sentenced to 27 months in prison Tuesday after a judge said
Whitaker needed a more ``structured'' environment to get his post-boxing
life ``straightened around.'' Circuit Judge Thomas S. Shadrick said Whitaker
had ``arrogantly thumbed your nose'' at rules given to him by the Virginia
Beach probation office after the former Olympic gold medalist was granted a
four-year suspended sentence for a cocaine conviction in August.

``You believe that those rules don't apply to you,'' Shadrick told Whitaker.
``But they do.''

Whitaker had refused to work, look for a job or get help for his drug and
alcohol addictions while on probation, according to testimony Tuesday.

Shadrick suspended the remaining 21 months of the four-year sentence and
ordered that Whitaker remain on good behavior for four years upon his
release.

Prison time marks the bottom of a long fall for Whitaker, who emerged from a
childhood in the Norfolk projects to win an Olympic gold medal in 1984 and
later fight professionally on HBO and pay-per-view. During his prime, from
1989 to 1997, Whitaker was widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound
fighter in the world.

Lou Duva, Whitaker's former trainer and manager with a company that signed
Whitaker right after the Olympics, said Tuesday that he tried to straighten
Whitaker out after his boxing career ended.

``But I could only do so much,'' Duva said. ``Sometimes you've gotta help
yourself.''

Prison might be tough on the former fighter, Duva said, but it might also
help Whitaker if he gets the counseling that he needs.

``I hope they treat him there as a sick patient,'' he said.

The courtroom was packed Tuesday with high school students and media who
listened intently as Whitaker's attorney tried to explain his celebrity
client's behavior while prosecutors argued that Whitaker should be sent to
prison.

Whitaker, 39, suffers from short-term memory loss that may have been caused
by blows he received during his boxing career, according to evidence
presented by his attorney, I. Lionel Hancock. That condition, Hancock said,
may have contributed to Whitaker's inability to follow the terms of his
probation.

Dr. Carl R. Ellis, a Norfolk clinical psychologist, testified that in
addition to short-term memory loss, Whitaker suffers from addiction
problems, depression and domestic difficulties. Problems with his estranged
wife and children have increased Whitaker's difficulty adjusting to life
without boxing, Ellis said.

Another witness, Kevin D. Rogers, a specialist in addictive disorders,
testified that Whitaker has few friends who now support him, and that he
tends to drift into destructive behavior when left to his own devices.

To combat this, a local gym owner, Mike Vaughn, offered in court to give
Whitaker a job as a boxing trainer if Shadrick would not send him to prison.

Whitaker, who ended his professional career in April 2001 after being
defeated by journeyman fighter Carlos Bojorquez, told Shadrick that he
wanted to show other fighters ``some of my secrets'' so ``they can go on and
become world champions.''

Hancock said he had arranged for Whitaker to be placed on electronic
monitoring so he could receive one-on-one counseling that Ellis and Rogers
said he requires.

``I'm not trying to get special treatment,'' Hancock said after the hearing.
``I am trying to explain a behavioral problem.''

But Shadrick rejected the plans. Instead, he ordered that Whitaker be
transferred within 90 days from a local jail to Indian Creek Correctional
Center in Chesapeake, where he will serve his prison sentence while
receiving treatment in the prison's therapeutic drug program.

``You need a structured environment to get your life straightened around,''
Shadrick said.

Prosecutor Thomas Murphy said the Indian Creek facility ``is a real
prison.''

Murphy explained that despite Whitaker's celebrity status, he has never
gotten special consideration during his various drug and drunken driving
infractions during the past several years.

Tuesday's ruling ``was a fair sentence by the judge,'' Murphy said. ``The
judge has treated him like everyone else the whole time.''

Whitaker was charged with cocaine possession in August 2001, after bringing
the drug into a Virginia Beach courtroom during a hearing on a traffic
violation. He pleaded guilty in January 2002 and was given first-offender
status, which allowed him to avoid a felony conviction.

He violated the terms of that arrangement when he tested positive for
cocaine use in March 2002. Shadrick then convicted Whitaker of cocaine
possession in August and gave him a four-year suspended sentence.

During a hearing at the time, Shadrick warned Whitaker that if he ever
appeared before him in court again, ``you will be going to the
penitentiary.''

Whitaker turned himself into police on Jan. 6, after violating the terms of
the suspended sentence.

A Beach probation officer testified that Whitaker refused to abide by the
rules of his probation and was confrontational and angry during meetings.

On one occasion, Whitaker's confrontational attitude ``led to a fist being
slammed down on my desk,`` said Janet L. Boyce, Whitaker's probation
officer.

Boyce said Whitaker violated his probation by refusing to get a job, never
attending Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings and
frequently drinking beer at a local bar.

She said despite being sighted numerous times at the bar, Whitaker always
denied alcohol use. He continued to deny it even though he tested positive
for alcohol in December, Boyce said.

Before Whitaker could be tried for the probation violation, he was arrested
in Virginia Beach for driving under the influence on Feb. 14. Whitaker also
was charged with refusing to take a blood-alcohol breath test.

Whitaker, who is to appear in court March 17 on those charges, has been in
jail since his DUI arrest. He was granted a $5,000 bond on Friday by Circuit
Judge Edward W. Hanson Jr. But Hanson delayed implementing the bond, pending
the outcome of Tuesday's hearing before Shadrick.

Shadrick's ruling overrides the bond. Whitaker will remain in custody until
he is transferred to prison.

Whitaker's problems with the law date back years, although most have been
for traffic violations. From April 1998 to May 2002, he was convicted on
eight occasions for various charges, including DUI and reckless driving.

Despite Whitaker's long-running legal difficulties, his girlfriend, Alinka
Pollock, said outside court Tuesday that she was shocked by the length of
his sentence.

``He's not a criminal. He didn't hurt anyone,'' Pollock said. ``The only one
he hurt was himself.''

Staff writer Ed Miller contributed to this article.
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