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Sizemore looks to his attorney after the judge announces his sentence.
Actor Tom Sizemore was sentenced on Thursday to 21 months in jail on a probation violation stemming from his conviction for beating his ex- girlfriend, former "Hollywood madam" Heidi Fleiss.
Sizemore, 43, who played combat-hardened soldiers in the war films "Saving Private Ryan" and "Blackhawk Down," remained free on $25,000 bail pending the outcome of his appeal in the Fleiss case, but he was ordered by a second judge to enroll in a court-approved drug rehab program within three weeks.
Still, the actor was jubilant as he walked out of the Los Angeles courthouse between the two sentencing hearings, declaring, "I'm free, I won. Free at last!"
He also had derisive words for Assistant City Attorney Robert Cha, the prosecutor in the Fleiss matter, saying, "He's a chump, he's a C-student, he's a piece of garbage."
His remarks to reporters contrasted sharply with his demeanor in court, where he tearfully begged the judge for "a second chance" in sparing him a much tougher sentence sought by prosecutors -- 4 1/2 years' imprisonment.
Sizemore ended up back in court after failing a series of drug tests required as a condition of his probation for his 2003 domestic violence conviction in the Fleiss case and a separate guilty plea last fall for possessing methamphetamine.
In February, Sizemore was briefly jailed for trying to use a prosthetic penis sewn into boxer shorts and filled with a clean urine sample to fake a drug test sample.
Whether Sizemore ever serves the 21-month sentence imposed by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Antonio Barreto Jr. depends on whether his conviction in the Fleiss case is upheld on appeal, a case that may take another 18 months to be heard.
Sizemore's lawyers said that even if he loses the appeal, the actor would only serve at most 10 months in jail, taking into account routine adjustments to his term.
MAXIMUM SENTENCE URGED
But Deputy District Attorney Sean Carney told reporters Sizemore faces up to three years in state prison if he fails to complete the court-ordered rehab.
During sentencing, Cha argued that the actor had shown no contrition for his behavior, had refused to accept responsibility for it and deserved the maximum punishment.
"The defendant has been coddled and enabled, based on his celebrity," Cha said. "He's deflecting blame."
Sizemore reacted with visible derision during much of the hearing, rolling his eyes, mocking the prosecutor and making gestures of exasperation.
But sobbing openly through his own rambling statement to the judge, Sizemore insisted he was truly remorseful.
"I'm not acting out. I'm begging. I'm beseeching. I cannot imagine my future without performing. I'm a good person. That's what I want people to know."
The actor acknowledged that he suffers from substance abuse -- "part of who I am is a person with a disease" -- but said he was "getting better." He also said his ordeal had brought him closer to his parents, who were present for the hearing.
Sizemore later said he planned to return Thursday evening to the set of his latest film, "Fear Itself," and would begin shooting another film, "Splinter," next week. He plays a corrupt cop in that movie.
Source: AP