Updated: May 3, 2007, 6:41 PM ET
Kings' Artest sentenced to 20 days in jail, probationESPN.com news services
Sacramento Kings forward Ron Artest was sentenced Thursday to 20 days in jail, 100 hours of community service, anger-management and fathering courses and three years' probation, according to a report in the Sacramento Bee.
Artest
The sentence, handed down in Placer County Superior Court in California, stems from charges of battery and corporal injury to a spouse, false imprisonment and dissuading a witness from reporting a crime in the wake of an incident with his wife, Kimsha.
The Bee reported, however, that it is unlikely Artest will spend any more time in jail. Judge Frances Kearney stayed 10 days of the sentence, and Artest may apply to serve the rest of the sentence in a work release program or similar alternative. Artest was credited with one day in jail for time served after he was arrested.
According to the Bee, Artest entered a no-contest plea to one misdemeanor count of inflicting corporal injury on a spouse. The other charges were dismissed, and a restraining order against Artest has been lifted.
The charges stemmed from a March 5 disturbance in which Artest was accused of grabbing a woman and pushing her down, then slapping her face and taking a phone from her when she tried to call 911.
Last week, Artest avoided animal cruelty charges after being accused of failing to feed his dog.
Deputy District Attorney Jeff Wilson said there was insufficient evidence to charge either Artest or his wife with animal cruelty or neglect.
Animal services officers seized a Great Dane named Socks from Artest's mansion in February after weeks of complaints from neighbors that the dog appeared to be starving inside a gated area on Artest's $1.85 million estate in rural Loomis.
Wilson said evidence showed Artest wasn't at the home when Socks began to lose weight, and that he had hired two people to care for the dog while he was on the road with the Kings.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report