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Wednesday, September 27
Arrest warrant issued for U.S. silver medalist
Associated Press
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- An arrest warrant has been issued for
Olympic silver medalist Alvin L. Harrison for failing to appear in
court for a traffic violation.
Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge John Salazar issued the
warrant in connection with a September 1998 citation issued by the
California Highway Patrol after Harrison was stopped while driving
on a suspended license.
Harrison, 26, a runner who finished second in the 400-meter race
Monday, pleaded guilty in March 1999 to the misdemeanor citation
and Salazar sentenced him to five days in a jail-supervised
work-release program, a $445 fine and 150 hours of volunteer
service with a high school track team.
The penalty was based in part on the fact that Harrison had two
previous convictions on the same charge, both in neighboring
Monterey County, in 1993 and 1995.
The warrant was issued after Harrison missed at least three
court dates between September 1998 and August 2000, all on the same
citation.
Harrison was born and now trains in Orlando, Fla., but moved to
Salinas in Monterey County when he was a high school sophomore. At
North Salinas High School, Harrison and his twin brother Calvin
became track stars and later attended Hartnell College in Salinas.
The brothers are the first twins to make a U.S. Olympic Track
and Field team, and were scheduled to run in the 1,600-meter relay
Saturday.
Court officials said the charge isn't serious enough to justify
extradition.
After sentencing in March 1999, Harrison was scheduled to have
his case reviewed by Salazar that September. Court records indicate
Harrison failed to show up for that hearing, and Salazar issued a
warrant for his arrest. In August 1999, Harrison failed to report
for the work-release program, which violated his court-ordered
sentence.
Almost a year later, in July, Harrison posted bond clearing up
the warrant and agreed to appear in court in August. But again he
failed to show up, prompting Judge William Kelsay to issue another
arrest warrant.
While the charge itself isn't much more serious than a broken
taillight, the fact that he missed so many court dates could win
him some time in jail, said one criminal defense attorney.
"I wouldn't expect a judge to say, You won a silver medal so
you can go," said Ben Vance of Santa Cruz. "By violating a
sentence and not showing up, it goes from not being a big deal to
being serious because he could face jail time."
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