Former Florida State running back Roosevelt Snipes, drafted last year by the San Francisco 49ers, has been sentenced for violating probation on a cocaine charge. Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Mar…
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Former Florida State running back Roosevelt Snipes, drafted last year by the San Francisco 49ers, has been sentenced for violating probation on a cocaine charge.
Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Marvin Mounts sentenced Snipes, 24, to a year and a day in prison.
Mounts put Snipes on 5 years' probation Feb. 21 after the athlete pleaded guilty to selling cocaine. The agreement allowed Snipes to try out with the 49ers.
"I wish you could talk to someone like Mercury Morris," Mounts told Snipes on Monday. Morris, a former Miami Dolphins star running back, served in prison on a cocaine charge and now lectures about the dangers of drugs.
Snipes rushed for 1,385 yards in two seasons at Florida State. He left the school last year because of academic problems but later was drafted by the 49ers.
On Dec. 6, he was arrested for selling crack, a highly potent cocaine derivative, to an undercover West Palm Beach police officer.
Mounts gave Snipes probation but allowed him to leave Florida for the tryout in San Francisco. A urine test given by the 49ers in May showed traces of cocaine in Snipes' system, according to court records.
Agent Richard Wolfe of Miami-based Pro Sports Management said his client was released by the team but "no reason was given."
Snipes returned home to Sarasota, where he was arrested on charges of robbery and grand theft. Snipes faces up to five years in prison on those counts, prosecutor Howard Berman said.
Snipes pleaded guilty to failing to report to his probation officer and failing to make probation payments. The robbery charges and alleged failure of the drug test were not held against Snipes as probation violations.
"I hate to see a great talent like yours, or what you used to be, wasted," Mounts told Snipes. "You're still a young man. You could still make it."
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