Bonds found guilty

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Former baseball star Barry Bonds has been found guilty of obstruction of justice in relation to allegations he knowingly used steroids.

Bond was found guilty of the charge after a 12-day trial in San Francisco, but no verdict was reached on three other charges of perjury after the jury failed to come to a unanimous decision after four days of deliberations.

US District Judge Susan Illston declared a mistrial on the perjury charges, and Bonds' legal team immediately asked for the guilty verdict to be thrown out.

The judge made no decision on their appeal, setting a hearing for late May.

Prosecutors told the court that Bonds had lied to a federal grand jury in 2003, during an inquiry into the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (Balco), which helped athletes gain access to performance-enhancing drugs.

During questioning, the outfielder denied that long-time friend Greg Anderson, who was also a personal trainer affiliated with Balco, had supplied him with such substances.

Bonds becomes the 11th person convicted as a result of Balco's steroid distribution, joining the likes of sprinter Marion Jones.

The 46-year-old former San Francisco Giants slugger holds the record for career home runs, retiring with 762 in 2007.

He also set the single-season record for home runs with 73 in 2001.

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