Bonds indicted for perjury, obstruction

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Major League Baseball's all-time home run leader Barry Bonds has been indicted in San Francisco on five counts of perjury and obstruction of justice.

Documents were filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco in connection with Bonds' Dec. 4, 2003, grand jury appearance, during which he testified he did not knowingly take performance enhancing drugs supplied by Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO).

Bonds' former mistress, Kimberly Bell, and a former childhood friend, Stevie Hoskins, also have said BALCO supplied him steroids.

Bonds is scheduled to appear Dec. 7 before Judge Maria-Elena James.

After his indictment, his former personal trainer, Greg Anderson -- a longtime personal friend, who spent nearly as year in jail for refusing to testify against Bonds -- was ordered released.

If convicted, Bonds could get a 30-year prison sentence.

The indictment of the seven-time National League MVP follows one of the longest federal grand jury investigations in Northern California history.

The 43-year-old slugger, who has consistently denied using steroids, has hit 762 home runs with a career average of .298 in 22 seasons with Pittsburgh and San Francisco.

His historic 756th homer came Aug. 7 this year against Washington.

He is a free agent after the Giants decided not to re-sign him.