UPPER MARLBORO Maryland AP Former heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe who is awaiting a probable jail sentence in North Carolina for kidnapping his estranged wife and five children in June has had an earlier assault charge involving his wife set aside. Judge Hovey Johnson on Monday shelved the second-degree assault charge from August 1997 on the conditions that Bowe have no violent conduct with his wife and that he complete a 10-day psychiatric evaluation and any accompanying treatments. The state withheld the right to return the case to the active docket any time within the next 12 months. Other than a brief acknowledgment that he understood the agreement Bowe said nothing during his court appearance and refused comment as he left the courtroom. His wife Judy who watched the proceeding from the gallery also declined comment as did Bowe's lawyer Billy Martin. In June Bowe pleaded guilty to abducting his wife and children from their home in Cornelius North Caorlina. He attempted to drive them to his home in Fort Washington Maryland but Mrs. Bowe managed to phone for help during a stop in Virginia. Prosecutors said Bowe would serve 18 to 24 months in prison under his plea agreement in the kidnapping case but he has yet to be sentenced. He was allowed to return to Maryland on the condition he remain under house arrest with electronic monitoring. A sentencing date has not been scheduled for Bowe in the North Carolina case a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Charlotte said Tuesday. APW19981201.1506.txt.body.html APW19981201.1095.txt.body.html