Felony charges on Hide Yamagishi dropped

MAINEVENT · Feb 7, 2008

http://www.flexonline.com/hidetadayamagishidecision/news/318

WTF, Viagra?

thebrick · Feb 7, 2008

Good to see something decent happen for a change. Especially with all the BS flying around these days... OMG he had viagra without a script? Glad they got him off the street and taught him a lesson. I feel safer now.

What was he going to do with that? Walk in and say, "This is a "stick-up?"

Flex4777 · Feb 7, 2008

thebrick said:
Good to see something decent happen for a change. Especially with all the BS flying around these days... OMG he had viagra without a script? Glad they got him off the street and taught him a lesson. I feel safer now. What was he going to do with that? Walk in and say, "This is a "stick-up?"

hahahahahahaha!

HUTCH · Feb 7, 2008

I dont think he just got caught with Viagra, but just got charged for Viagra without a script...Another board has listed what he was caught with...there were about 8 thing, Tren, cialis, dbol, forget the rest ill have to go back paste it here.

MAINEVENT · Feb 7, 2008

HUTCH said:
I dont think he just got caught with Viagra, but just got charged for Viagra without a script...Another board has listed what he was caught with...there were about 8 thing, Tren, cialis, dbol, forget the rest ill have to go back paste it here.

I dont know much about it....but it sounded like his lawyer was saying he didn't intend to distribute and that was the crux of the arguement. So yes, he still had several things with him.

BrooklynBB · Feb 7, 2008

mainevent said:
I dont know much about it....but it sounded like his lawyer was saying he didn't intend to distribute and that was the crux of the arguement. So yes, he still had several things with him.

If that's the case, can't this be used in arguments in other cases where people either smuggle shit in for personal use and thus can't be touched?

I'd say this is great news for recreational users worldwide.

Rob Roy · Feb 7, 2008

I really like Hide and think he's a great guy. I've hung out with him on a few occasions and even trained with him so I'm happy to see him free, but I just hope it wasn't a "you scratch our back and we'll scratch yours by making this whole thing disapear." He doesn't seem like the type, but to see charges just dropped in this day and age gotta make ya wonder a bit. I'm sure I'm just reading too far into it, but...

massmonster32 · Feb 7, 2008

Exactly what I was thinking Rob Roy. Good news though hopefully not a deal. MM

oldfella · Feb 7, 2008

thebrick said:
Good to see something decent happen for a change. Especially with all the BS flying around these days... OMG he had viagra without a script? Glad they got him off the street and taught him a lesson. I feel safer now. What was he going to do with that? Walk in and say, "This is a "stick-up?"

HAHAHAHAHA. Actually he said he was on a fishing vacation and he forgot his ROD!! snapper fishing that is!

TooPowerful4u · Feb 7, 2008

am i the ONLY one here who thinks this is not good? HOW did he get off when he had all that shit and is only being charged for viagra? Smell something?

LATS · Feb 7, 2008

well.. i hear ya tp but, i think when the case was made that it was enough for personal use ect ect, they figured the deportation (which most agree will proably happen) is his punishment per sae.. he will be made to leave the country.. that being said, he could have also made a deal.. we will know a about a year..

that is how long it usually takes for the truth to come out in thses cases..

oldfella · Feb 7, 2008

DOn't discount the fact that he is a bit of a celebrity in Japan, so for the US to lock him up for any reasonable amount of time would not have been a very good political move on the part of the feds. Slapping him on the wrist and labelling his passport "Never to return" will be enough. That and most likely a bit of public disgrace in his homeleand. They probably did not have a strong case for distribution or conspiracy, so the posession charge will be enough. I would not like to think he rolled over for the amount he had, it really was not a big deal.

asilaydying · Feb 7, 2008

No way in hell you do any time, even if it only was a month or two for possesion of viagra without a script. Not even a 2 time felon would do time for that. Something else is up.

edge250 · Feb 7, 2008

this doesnt sound right at all, not with the steriod climate in the states right now i dont care if it was a personal stash. things that make ya go hmmmmmm.

thebrick · Feb 7, 2008

I think if this guy had been a US citizen, this could have turned out quite differently

Hellbilly · Feb 7, 2008

Good for him, all though something does seem a bit odd about the whole situation.

Massive G · Feb 7, 2008

From Mayhem:

Harry The Hat said:
"Yep. You can be sure that the rumor mill will now be going into overdrive.

When the news first broke that Hidetada had been arrested, people speculated that he had rec drugs as well as steroids. Those around Hidetada were then at pains to stress that it was "only steroids".

Now we have Hidetada being convicted of only a single misdemeanor of possession of Viagra. Notice that he had six felony charges and two out of three misdemeanor charges dismissed. But maybe they weren't for AAS possession after all, eh? Luckily, I was able to lift off a bodybuilding blog a list of the initial felony charges:

"The felonies are:

Unlawful possession for sale and purchase for sale a controlled substance, trenbolone.

Unlawful possession for sale and purchase for sale a controlled substance, testosterone.

Unlawful possession for sale and purchase for sale a controlled substance, chorionic gonadotropin.

Unlawful possession for sale and purchase for sale of a controlled substance, mesterolone.

Unlawful possession for sale and purchase for sale of a controlled substance, oxandrolone.

Unlawful transport, import into the state of California, sell, furnish, administer and give away and offer to transport, import into the State of California, sell furnish, administer and give away, and attempt to import into the State of California and transport a controlled substance trenbolone, chorionic gonadotropin, testosterone, mesterolone, oxandrolone and stanozolol."

This is what Hidetada's lawyer, Shawn Chapman Holley, had to say before the trial: "It’s clear that the quantity of steroids at issue is consistent with personal use and far less than one would expect to see in a case of sales. Moreover, the quantity is consistent with what one would expect to see for a bodybuilder with the competition schedule Hide had posted on his Website before his arrest.”

Holley continued: “Everybody in the state court system, myself included, has to be educated on anabolic steroids use and quantities. The state system is generally easier to navigate from a defendant’s standpoint than the federal system, so we’re happy it’s in state court. But it’s just a matter of making sure that everybody understands what is – and more importantly what it is not.

I am hopeful that on February 6th we will have worked out a deal where, hopefully he will plead guilty to a misdemeanor count and be placed on summary probation with credit for time served and that will be the end of the criminal case.”

“That is going to give him the best chance to be able to come back to the United States and compete. I’m hoping that the district attorney’s office shares my view that those criminal acts, the only person that is placed in any potential jeopardy is Hide, if he chooses to take steroids. And why do we want to destroy this person’s entire career and livelihood and life? He’s been in custody since the time he was arrested, that’s a very long time, and he is going to have a very long immigration fight in front of him, so let’s let that be the punishment.”

This is the full report from the trial from FlexOnline and what Holley had to say afterwards:

Yamagishi was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on December 8 and charged with six felonies and three misdemeanors. Today, Wednesday February 6, at Los Angeles Superior Court all felony charges were dismissed along with two misdemeanor counts, as Yamagishi pled no contest to one misdemeanor count of possession of Viagra without a prescription.

Yamagishi was sentenced to 24 months of summary probation with credit for time served, which amounted to 91 days - the 61 days Yamagishi has been incarcerated in the North County Correctional Facility in Castaic, California and 30 days credit for good time served. According to Yamagishi’s defense attorney Shawn Chapman Holley, the scenario was the best possible outcome for Yamagishi.

“I met with Mr. Lynch who is the Head Deputy of the District Attorney’s office yesterday,” Chapman Holley said. “I presented him a packet of materials. Not only declarations from people indicating that there was no way in the world that the amount of steroids that he possessed was for distribution but also…a lot of character letters. Also, our concern is what is going to happen in the immigration court. We had an extensive letter from the immigration attorney talking about what is likely to happen in the immigration proceedings. I wanted the DA to consider all of these things because this is a great guy, a great competitor and a great athlete who had no intention of selling or distributing any of these compounds. And he is also going to have to face a number of serious consequences with regard to immigration and with regard to whatever sponsorships he has. So I wanted to take all of that into consideration and assess what made sense.”

Yamagishi will now have to wait to see how things proceed in Immigration court to see what happens to his 01 visa, given to people with extraordinary talents and abilities, such as professional athletes. Should that visa be revoked - which remains a possibility - Yamagishi would have to find another avenue in which to enter the United States to compete in professional bodybuilding contests.

“Hopefully he will be able to ultimately come back to this country and compete,” Chapman Holley said.

According to Chapman Holley, Yamagishi will be released from the custody of the Sheriffs department today. Flexonline has learned that Yamagishi is currently in transport to the Federal Correctional Institute in San Pedro, California. “I don’t know what will happen there,” Chapman Holley said. “They may send him immediately back to Japan at which point he will have to work with his immigration attorney to get back to the states hopefully to compete.”

Yamagishi entered the court room wearing a long-sleeved thermal underwear shirt under a lime green LA County Jail prison-issue uniform and sat at a table next to Chapman Holley and the court-appointed Japanese translator. Presiding judge Amy Hogue never addressed Yamagishi directly. Yamagishi was ordered to pay $120 in court fees. He was in court for approximately five minutes.

*****************************

Weird huh? Once again, a high profile bodybuilder is caught with AASs in the midst of a major crackdown on steroids and escapes with a slap on the wrists.

Bearing in mind that Milos was at pains to state what a great guy Hidetada is, we must assume that he will be welcomed back into Team Milos with open arms.

What's even more interesting is the prospect that Hidetada might be allowed to compete in all those shows this year that he claimed he was going to. The 2008 season's about to get real interesting.

What are the odds that the DEA will use the Pro League's own athletes to bust the entire industry wide open?"

Seems fishy to me too.

Massive G · Feb 7, 2008

Massive G said:
Unlawful possession for sale and purchase for sale a controlled substance, trenbolone.

Unlawful possession for sale and purchase for sale a controlled substance, testosterone.

Unlawful possession for sale and purchase for sale a controlled substance, chorionic gonadotropin.

Unlawful possession for sale and purchase for sale of a controlled substance, mesterolone.

Unlawful possession for sale and purchase for sale of a controlled substance, oxandrolone.