Manny The Hippie
AP Photo DY101 of Oct 2 Manny the Hippie
Sent to Prison for Probation ViolationWednesday, October 2, 1996
By JAMES HANNAH
Associated Press Writer
XENIA, Ohio (AP) -- Manny the Hippie is trading in the spotlights of Hollywood for the prison variety.
The 20-year-old San Francisco man who became a celebrity on "Late Show with David Letterman" was sentenced to 18 months in prison Wednesday for violating probation on a marijuana-trafficking conviction.
However, Judge Thomas Rose of Greene County Common Pleas Court gave Micah Papp, which is Manny's real name, credit for four months already served.
Papp surrendered to Ohio officials two weeks ago after returning from California. Ohio authorities had sought Papp after spotting him on the Letterman show. They said he violated the terms of his probation by leaving Ohio.
Papp has appeared frequently on the television program, often doing movie reviews. He once took Letterman on a tour of San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district and exposed him to street lingo such as "schwag" (bad), "dank" (good) and "diggity dank" (quite good).
Papp's attorney, John Rion, said he does not know if his client will have the same career opportunities when he is released from prison.
"He'll just have to put his life on hold and put his career on hold," Rion said. "Hopefully, it will be there for him" when he gets out.
He had asked Rose to allow Papp to serve out the remainder of his probation in California. Rion said his client left Ohio because of threatening telephone calls, and a prison term could jeopardize the financial benefits of Papp's newfound fame.
"This young man has been visited with what some would call opportunities of a lifetime," Rion said. Rion told the court that Papp was molested when he was a youth and started smoking marijuana to deal with the pain of that experience.
Papp told Rose that he realizes he has a drug problem and wants to deal with it.
"I have goals, and I don't want to let drugs get in the way," Papp said. But Rose told Papp that he had been given plenty of chances in the past.
"The court is aware that its judgment affects your future," the judge said. "But every day I deal with people who have futures.
"This is not about a marijuana cigarette," he continued. "This is about your willingness to comply with the court and the system."
Rose imposed the maximum 18-month sentence on Papp, less the credit for time served.
Papp was accused of selling a small amount of marijuana to an undercover policeman in Greene County while living in Ohio. In March, he pleaded guilty and was ordered to serve five years' probation. He spent about four months in jail from the time of his arrest last December until he entered the plea, and that time was deducted from the sentence imposed Wednesday.
When Rose issued the sentence, Papp slumped in his chair as Rion consoled him.
"He cried," Rion said later. "He felt that all his high hopes would be lost."
Rion said he plans to ask the court to release Papp from prison after 30 days on shock probation.
(Copyright 1996 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
APTV-10-02-96 2231PDT*