Jurors Reach Verdict in Barry Bonds Perjury Case, California Court Says

Jurors in the Barry Bonds perjury case reached a verdict on whether the former San Francisco Giants outfielder lied in a federal investigation of steroids, the court announced.

The eight-woman, four-man jury in San Francisco federal court began deliberations April 7 over three perjury counts and one obstruction of justice charge against Bonds, whose trial began March 21. More than a dozen witnesses testified for the government. If convicted, the maximum sentence Bonds faces for each count is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Bonds, 46, who broke Hank Aaron’s record of 755 career home runs in August 2007, was indicted in November of that year. He was the first major-league player to be charged in a years-long federal probe of steroids use in professional sports. He didn’t testify at trial and his lawyers didn’t put on any witnesses.

He was accused by prosecutors in San Francisco of lying to a federal grand jury in 2003 when he said he didn’t knowingly take performance-enhancing substances provided by Anderson and only received injections from his physician. He was also charged with obstruction, as prosecutors alleged his untruthful testimony impeded their steroids investigation.

The case is U.S. v. Bonds, 07-00732, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).

To contact the reporter on this story: Karen Gullo in San Francisco at kgullo@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net