Giove avoids jail time
Mountain biker sentenced on drug counts
American Missy Giove can celebrate her Thanksgiving holiday by being grateful that she will not have to spend time in prison. The former mountain bike downhill world champion was sentenced to six months of house detention and five years of probation on Wednesday after a drug-related conviction according to the Associated Press.
The 38-year-old was arrested in June of 2009 and charged with transporting 350 pounds of marijuana from California to the Albany area in New York State.
Giove's lawyer reported that she had done the trafficking after head injuries prematurely ended her career and caused financial hardship.
Prosecutors had been pressing for a prison sentence of 24 to 30 months following her December 2009 guilty plea.
During her career, Giove won 11 World Cups and the 1994 downhill world championships.
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