Stepping out of his black Chevy Tahoe SUV, smashingly dressed, and fully aware that the media would bombard him beforehand, former glory Barry Bonds acted like a punk today after arriving at the U.S District Courthouse to make his plea this morning. Oh, and that plea of fibbing under oath to a federal grand jury regarding his steroids use? Not guilty. Ta-da.

Basically, he came, said that he didn't do it, had a bond set at et bond at $500,000, presumably had a pretty mugshot taken, etcetera, etcetera. Also, according to today's Chronicle article on Bonds' day in court today, something interesting:

Juanita Gutierrez was heading to an appointment near the courthouse with her 3-year-old daughter, Angelica, but stopped to get a glimpse of Bonds. She managed to catch him in the lobby and did one better... "I shook his hand and wished him luck," Gutierrez said. "I don't care (about the charges) - I'm from San Francisco and I love the 49ers and the Giants, and Barry is my number one. He's even cuter in person."

Cuter in person? Stopped to catch a glimpse? Awesome. Let the circus begin.

Read more about it here, here, and here.

The man accused of assaulting and kidnapping Elie Wiesel -- attempted kidnapping, false imprisonment, battery, stalking, elder abuse and hate crimes, to be exact -- changed his not guilty plea to one of insanity today. Earlier this year, if you recall, Eric Hunt, 23, stalked and dragged the Nobel Prize winner and Holocaust survivor from an elevator at the Argent Hotel (recently re-branded Westin San Francisco Market Street, even though it's totally located on Third Street) and then assaulted him.

Diagnosed as bi-polar, and having already offered his mea culpa to Wiesel, today's third plea change makes sense. Sort of. According to Bay City News (via SF Examiner), Hunt "dropped his original insanity plea and simply pleaded not guilty this summer as his defense lawyer tried unsuccessfully to get the case moved to a court for mentally ill offenders." Held in a psychiatric hospital since February, his trial starts in March '08.

Also, skinny slip of a thing, isn't he? (His top simply hangs off him!) Not the Russel Crowe in Romper Stomper type we had imagined.


Image credit: AP Photo / Mike Derer