ROCKVILLE, Md. – One of Mike Tyson’s victims plans to show up in court to help keep the troubled fighter out of jail – although he admits the boxer has “compensated” him for his troubles.
A lawyer for Bimelec Saucedo, 63, a Mexican-born anesthesiologist who was one of the motorists Tyson assaulted in Rockville last Aug. 31, told The Post his client will try to help the ex-champ.
Saucedo will attend Friday’s sentencing hearing in the case and argue against a jail sentence that could end Tyson’s stormy boxing career, said lawyer Glenn Culpepper.
“My client has been compensated – that’s all I can say,” added Culpepper, who declined to reveal the amount of money involved in the settlement with the heavyweight.
Montgomery County prosecutor Douglas Gansler will ask for jail time for Tyson, who was charged with punching Saucedo in the jaw and kicking another driver in the groin after a three-car crash.
Jail time could set off a chain reaction of legal troubles. Tyson could get three more years in jail for parole violation from Indiana – where he was convicted in 1992 for rape.
And the Nevada Boxing Commission would be forced to yank his boxing license once again.
“The stakes are huge,” said Tyson’s lawyer Paul Kemp, who will ask for probation for the former champ.
Tyson, still one of boxing’s primary gate attractions, recently earned $10 million in his comeback fight last month following his suspension for biting Evander Holyfield’s ears in a title bout two years ago.
He will be going into this arena armed with the support of at least one of his victims.
“We do not think he should go to jail,” said Culpepper, Saucedo’s lawyer.
“What we have said we wanted is for Mike Tyson to acknowledge the inappropriateness of his behavior, the cause of this should be addressed through anger management and counseling and there should be appropriate compensation for my client,” Culpepper said.
He contended Tyson has lived up to his side of the bargain.
Not only has Tyson undergoone extensive counseling in order to get his boxing license back, but he also reached an out-of-court financial settlement with Saucedo.
The lawyer for the second man involved in the Aug. 31 assault did not return calls seeking comment last night. But Tyson’s legal team expects that victim also to show up in court on the Brooklyn-born fighter’s behalf.
Tyson, 32, pleaded no contest to the assault charges, as part of a plea agreement his lawyer thought would allow him to avoid jail time.
But Gansler, who took office Jan. 4, sent a memo to District Court Judge Stephen Johnson last week citing Tyson’s long history of violent outbursts and said Tyson should be put behind bars.
“Nothing less than a time bomb is buried in our own backyard,” Gansler wrote.
Kemp is accusing the new prosecutor of “betrayal,” saying Gansler is violating the original terms of Tyson’s plea agreement, which prevented prosecutors from asking for a specific amount of jail time.