Pro Bodybuilding Weekly interviewed IFBB Pro bodybuilder Hidetada Yamagishi today for the first time since his release from jail. Hide Yamagishi was arrested and charged with steroid possession and distribution in December 2007; he was released after 65 days in jail after his attorney had all felony charges dismissed. His travel visa was revoked.
Yamagishi told Dan Solomon and Bob Cicherillo of Pro Bodybuilding Weekly that he is currently working to obtain a visa so he can compete at the 2008 IFBB Pro Bodybuilding Weekly Championships in Tampa, Florida on August 9, 2008 and possibly the 2008 Europa Pro show.
Hide is not angry or bitter and the events that have occurred over the past few months. He continues to be grateful for every opportunity bodybuilding has provided him. He told listeners his relationship with Milos Sarcev is good and he hopes to work with him in the “future forever.” He thanked his fans for their support while he was in jail with special thanks to Silvio Samuel and Mitsuru Okabe.
He continues to take full responsibility for everything that has happened to him and implores fans to learn from his mistakes repeating sentiments recorded a video message last month for his fans upon his initial return to Japan.
IFBB Pro Bodybuilder Hidetada Yamagishi recently had all felony steroid possession and distribution charges against him dismissed; he pleaded guilty to only a misdemeanor count of possession of Viagra without a prescription. Nonetheless, this was enough to result in the revocation of his O-1 travel visa granted to foreign athletes who have extraordinary ability and have received international acclaim and recognition in their respective sport. As a result, he was taken into federal custody and placed in the Federal Correctional Institute at San Pedro, California.
Yamagishi retained immigration attorney Ms. Montserrat Miller, Esq. from the law firm Greenberg Traurig. Hide was given the option of remaining incarcerated while he fought the revocation of his O-1 visa or he could voluntarily return to Japan. Upon the advice of Ms. Miller, Hidetada Yamagishi chose the latter option.
When Hide returns to Japan, he will be faced with decisions on how to proceed with his bodybuilding career as it involves travel to the United States. Flexonline outlines his options:
Now, Yamagishi must choose whether he wants to fight the revocation of his visa from Japan or apply for re-entry to the United States. IF he chooses to contest the revocation and loses, Yamagishi faces a five-year ban where he will not, under any circumstances, be allowed to enter the United States. However, if Yamagishi elects to apply for a re-entry visa and is approved, it is likely that he would be allowed back in the country within the next few months.
Flex Online reports that all felony and misdemeanor steroid and controlled substance charges against Hidetada Yamagishi were dismissed except for one misdemeanor count of possession of Viagra without a prescription which Hide pleaded no contest. This is the best possible outcome for Hide according to his attorney, Shawn Chapman Holley.
I met with Mr. Lynch who is the Head Deputy of the District Attorney’s office yesterday… I presented him a packet of materials. Not only declarations from people indicating that there was no way in the world that the amount of steroids that he possessed was for distribution but also…a lot of character letters. Also, our concern is what is going to happen in the immigration court. We had an extensive letter from the immigration attorney talking about what is likely to happen in the immigration proceedings. I wanted the DA to consider all of these things because this is a great guy, a great competitor and a great athlete who had no intention of selling or distributing any of these compounds. And he is also going to have to face a number of serious consequences with regard to immigration and with regard to whatever sponsorships he has. So I wanted to take all of that into consideration and assess what made sense.
Hide Yamagishi has been released from the custody of the State of California and transported into federal custody at the Federal Correctional Institute in San Pedro, California. It is uncertain whether he will be able to remain in the United States after he appears in immigration court. He may be deported immediately to Japan where he will have to try to re-establish his travel visa.
It appears that the State of California considers Viagra and Cialis “controlled substances” when the pharmaceuticals are not accompanied by a valid prescription! Court documents reveal that two of the charges against IFBB Pro Bodybuilder Hidetada Yamagishi involve Viagra and Cialis (emphasis added):
Count 7: On or about December 8, 2007, in the County of Los Angeles, the crime of possession of a controlled substance, in violation of business & professions code section 4060, a Misdemeanor, was committed by Hidetada Yamagishi, who did knowingly and unlawfully possess VIAGRA, a controlled substance without a prescription.
Count 8: On or about December 8, 2007, in the County of Los Angeles, the crime of possession of a controlled substance, in violation of business & professions code section 4060, a Misdemeanor, was committed by Hidetada Yamagishi, who did knowingly and unlawfully possess CIALIS, a controlled substance without a prescription.
Granted, they are misdemeanor charges. But who would have considered Viagra and Cialis controlled substances. Do they meet any of the traditional criteria for controlled substances under the law?
IFBB Pro Bodybuilder Hidetada Yamagishi has retained one of the top Hollywood defense attorneys, Shawn Chapman Holley to defend him in his legal case involving steroid possession and steroid distribution; Holley is a uber celebrity attorney with an impressive resume defending celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Nicole Richey, rapper The Game and Michelle Rodriguez.
Shawn Chapman Holley is a Partner at Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert LLP, the chief legal correspondent for E! Entertainment Television, the former Managing Partner of the Los Angeles office of the Cochran Firm, former head of the Cochran Firm’s national Criminal Defense Section.
She is probably best known as a member of O.J. Simpson’s defense team, aka the “Dream Team,” in Simpson’s criminal murder trial. She has extensive legal experience in high-profile cases:
Ms. Holley successfully defended Sara Jane Olson in her highly-publicized cases involving crimes committed by the Symbionese Liberation Army more than twenty-eight years ago. Her clients have included Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg, actors Stan Shaw and Nia Long, and NBA basketball stars Larry Johnson and Byron Scott. She was also a member of the defense team which successfully represented celebrated Black Panther leader Elmer “Geronimo” Pratt in a highly-publicized hearing which resulted in his release from prison after more than twenty-five years and the reversal of his murder conviction. Ms. Holley is Chief Legal Correspondent for the E! Network, providing on-air commentary on topical legal issues concerning entertainers and the entertainment industry. She was on-air legal analyst for KABC Eyewitness News in Los Angeles for several years and appears frequently on the Today Show, Good Morning America, PrimeTime Live, The O’Reilly Factor, Court TV, Fox News and CNN. She was a featured lawyer on Fox TV’s Power of Attorney for two seasons and was most recently featured as an on-air legal analyst on the E! Network’s nightly international coverage of the Michael Jackson trial.
With the benefit of Shawn Chapman Holley, Hide may able to get out of jail next week on reduced misdemeanor charges with time served, avoid deportation, and continue to compete in IFBB pro bodybuilding contests in the United States.
Hidetada Yamagishi’s defense attorney provided court documents to Flex Online including details of steroid-related charges against him. The court documents provide details of the anabolic steroid stack imported by IFBB Pro Bodybuilder Hidetada Yamagishi when he was arrested on his arrival in the United States to compete in the 2008 IFBB Iron Man Pro and 2008 IFBB Arnold Classic as well as other pro bodybuilding shows:
Flex Online spoke with the attorney for Hidetada Yamagishi and confirmed the steroid-related charges against Hide that we first learned over three weeks ago from Muscletime. Allan Donnelly writes:
Yamagishi is charged with six felonies and three misdemeanors.
The felonies are: unlawful possess for sale and purchase for sale a controlled substance, trenbolone; unlawful possess for sale and purchase for sale a controlled substance, testosterone; unlawful possess for sale and purchase for sale a controlled substance chorionic gonadotropin; unlawful possess for sale and purchase for sale of a controlled substance mesterolone; unlawful possess for sale and purchase for sale of a controlled substance, oxandrolone; unlawful transport, import into the state of California, sell, furnish, administer and give away and offer to transport, import into the State of California, sell furnish, administer and give away, and attempt to import into the State of California and transport a controlled substance trenbolone, chorionic gonadotropin, testosterone, mesterolone, oxandrolone and stanozolol.
Shawn Chapman Holley, Hide’s defense attorney, confirmed that the amount and quantity of anabolic steroids and ancillary drugs found in Hidetada’s luggage at LAX was consistent with personal use for a competitive bodybuilder.
It’s clear that the quantity of steroids at issue is consistent with personal use and far less than one would expect to see in a case of sales. Moreover the quantity is consistent with what one would expect to see for a bodybuilder with the competition schedule Hide had posted on his Website before his arrest.
The State of California is apparently abusing misusing the law by attempting to prosecute Hidetada Yamagishi as a distributor of anabolic steroids; Hidetada clearly had no intent to sell steroids only to compete in professional bodybuilding competitions.
California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, knows a thing or two about the quantity and type of anabolic steroids and ancillary drugs included in precontest bodybuilding steroid stacks. He could easily confirm that the steroid stack imported by Hide was consistent with personal use by a professional bodybuilder. Someone should appeal directly to Arnold Schwarzenegger and ask that he explain this to California prosecutors.
There is a good chance that Hide’s defense attorney will be able to do the same and reach a plea agreement to misdemeanor charges on behalf of Hidetada Yamagishi.
I am hopeful that on February 6th we will have worked out a deal where, hopefully he will plead guilty to a misdemeanor count and be placed on summary probation with credit for time served and that will be the end of the criminal case.
Nonetheless, it is terrible that Hide will have spent no less than 8 weeks incarcerated on trumped up charges.
Allan Donnelly of Flex Magazine reports that IFBB Pro Bodybuilder Hidetada Yamagishi’s preliminary court date on steroid possession and steroid distribution charges has been rescheduled to February 6, 2008. Hide was said to have “missed” the bus transporting him to his originally scheduled hearing on January 23, 2008; when he did arrive, Los Angelese Superior Court was unable to provide a court-appointed Japanese translator. So, the judge rescheduled the hearing two weeks later. Meanwhile, Hidetada returns to jail to continue to wait for his day in court.
It seems to be that it was the State’s responsible to deliver Hide to court on time and, when that was not possible, at least be able to provide a Japanese translator. Rescheduling the court date to almost two weeks later due to State incompetence doesn’t seem very fair to Hide.
Muscletime.com was the first to report the official charges against Japanese bodybuilder Hidetada Yamagishi:
IFBB Pro Bodybuilder Hidetada Yamagishi was formally charged today in Los Angeles Superior Court with nine counts of steroid possession and distribution including 5 counts of “possession or purchase of controlled substance;” 1 count of “transport of controlled substance into state for sale;” and 3 counts of “possession of a prescription drug without a prescription.”
A good friend of Hidetada Yamagishi tells me that Rokkuku Construction had terminated Hide’s sponsorship contract of last month as a result of his arrest and incarceration. They are apparently withdrawing completely from the sport of bodybuilding having also cancelled the IFBB Japan Pro scheduled for 2008.
Muscletime has listed the mailing address where bodybuilding fans can send Hide fan mail.
Hidetada Yamagishi #1089220
P.O. Box 86164
Terminal Annex
Los Angeles, CA 90086-0164
Please observe inmate mail regulations when sending mail to Hide. Also, consider purchasing gift packs.
Very little bodybuilding food is available, but he may appreciate a phone calling card as I’m sure international calls back home to Japan are quite expensive. For more information, go to http://www.lasdpackages.com
