Judge accepts Morrison guilty pleas in misdemeanor cases

HUNTSVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- Former heavyweight boxing champion Tommy Morrison's guilty pleas to a pair of misdemeanors were accepted Tuesday by a municipal judge. <br><br>Morrison, who is serving a

Tuesday, February 15th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

HUNTSVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- Former heavyweight boxing champion Tommy Morrison's guilty pleas to a pair of misdemeanors were accepted Tuesday by a municipal judge.

Morrison, who is serving a two-year sentence at a state prison in Texarkana, entered the pleas through a letter from his lawyer, Rusty Hudson of Fayetteville, said Judge W.Q. Hall. The letter, sent Friday, was waiting for Hall at his judge's office Tuesday, the judge said.

Under the agreement outlined in the letter, Morrison pleaded guilty to misdemeanor marijuana and public intoxication charges and agreed to a total of $600 in fines. Hudson said he included a $600 check with his letter "as payment in full of Tommy Morrison's fines and court costs in this case."

Hall said, however, that $150 more is due the court to cover court costs. The $600, he said, was enough to cover only the fines-- $100 on the public intoxication charge and $500 in the marijuana charge.

Court costs in each case are $75, Hall said. Hudson said he discussed the plea with Morrison. The letter also said Morrison agreed to a 30-day sentence. Hall said he made that sentence concurrent with the prison sentence Morrison is now serving, as Hudson and Prosecutor Bill Allred agreed.

The charges stem from Morrison's Thanksgiving Day arrest near Huntsville after he ran from a traffic accident. He was a passenger in a car driven by Bart Bumpass, who was charged with possession of drugs, possession of firearms and driving while intoxicated.

Morrison, who is formerly from Jay, Okla., has had numerous run-ins with the law in the past few years. He was sent to prison last month after pleading guilty to drug and traffic charges filed in September in Fayetteville.

The Tulsa County district attorney's office plans to try to extradite Morrison to Oklahoma and has asked the court to revoke a suspended sentence for driving under the influence of alcohol. Morrison became the World Boxing Organization's heavyweight champion in 1993 by defeating George Foreman. He had 40 knockouts during his career, the last in 1996 -- just after testing positive for the virus that causes AIDS.