The son of former heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier has been sentenced to up to 3 1/2 years in prison for stealing a young boy's bike.
Hector "Smoking Joe Jr." Frazier also was placed on five years' probation Friday.The 28-year-old Frazier pleaded guilty to committing the robbery, a burglary of a downtown Philadelphia business, two car thefts and one attempted auto theft.
During the court proceedings, Hector Frazier apologized to 11-year-old William Neri for stealing his bike and snatching $3 from his pocket on Jan. 28.
"I'm really sorry for what I did. It just wasn't me. I need help," he said.
His attorney told Common Pleas Judge Anthony J. DeFino that drug use coupled with family pressures were the reasons for her client's troubles with the law.
Noting the success of his father and older brother, heavyweight boxer Marvis Frazier, public defender Paula Biderman said the pressure to succeed overwhelmed the younger Frazier.
"He began trying to be a boxer, and he was doing fairly well. He got into drugs. . . . Since then, he's just gone downhill," she said.
Under terms of the sentence, Hector Frazier's attorney can petition the court to have him transferred to a drug program.