Pernell "Sweetpea" Whitaker, who won Olympic gold and six world championships in boxing, was found guilty Friday of driving without a license.
Whitaker had been charged with driving on a suspended license last Aug. 6.
A judge found Whitaker guilty of the lesser offense, said Commonwealth's Attorney Nancy Parr.
He was fined $250.
A previous story incorrectly stated that Whitaker pleaded guilty to the lesser charge.
Whitaker, 46, grew up in a Norfolk housing project and went on to win Olympic gold in 1984. He was often referred to as the best fighter pound-for-pound in the 1990s, and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2007.
Whitaker has run into repeated legal troubles involving drugs, alcohol and driving since 1999, when he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence. He pleaded guilty to a DUI charge again in 2003. And he served 30 days on weekends after pleading guilty in May 2002 to reckless driving and not wearing a seat belt after being caught driving 90 mph in a 55 mph zone on Witchduck Road in Virginia Beach.
Whitaker was also twice convicted of cocaine possession – the first charge coming after Virginia Beach sheriff’s deputies discovered cocaine when they searched Whitaker before a three-day jail term on driving charges – and a 27-month prison term beginning in March 2003 for violating probation on a cocaine charge.
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