Judge worried juiced Tim Montgomery would run away, denied bail appeal

Former Olympic gold medalist/world 100m record holder Tim Montgomery went to court today, and left still in custody.  A Virgina Federal judge denied the sprinter bond on heroin charges. Looks like his BALCO past was benign compared to this trouble.  Sounds like the judge was worried Montgomery would sprint out of the state.  To the AP:

A federal judge denied bond for former track star Tim Montgomery on federal heroin distribution charges.

Montgomery appeared Tuesday in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge F. Bradford Stillman. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and requested a jury trial, which the judge set for July 9.

The former 100-meter world-record holder was arrested last week on a sealed indictment accusing him of dealing more than 100 grams of heroin in Virginia.

Stillman said Montgomery is a flight risk and a danger to the community, noting he is accused of dealing heroin in Virginia four times to a government informant after he pleaded guilty in a New York-based check-kiting conspiracy. He is to be sentenced May 16 in that case.

Montgomery, on the rebound from a New York fraud conviction, continues his strain of antisocial behaviors:

The 33-year-old Montgomery pleaded guilty in the New York case, admitting he helped his former coach, Olympic champion Steve Riddick, and others cash $1.7 million in stolen and counterfeit checks. He faces up to 46 months in prison.

Eric Hurt, an assistant U.S. attorney, called the heroin case straightforward.

Montgomery met four times with a confidential informant from August to April, dealing a total of 111 grams of heroin for $8,450, Hurt told the judge.

Authorities recorded the meetings on audiotape and, in two cases, also on videotape. Drug Enforcement Administration agents also observed the transactions, Hurt said.

Montgomery's defense attorney James O. Broccoletti declined to comment after the hearing, as did members of Montgomery's family, who were in court.

This generation of track stars sure collected some shame: Marion Jones, Montgomery, Chrystie Gaines, and perhaps Mo Greene.