By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

              SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- The Rev. Al Sharpton left Puerto Rico in federal
              custody Friday, headed for a New York detention center, after he was sentenced to
              90 days in prison for trespassing on U.S. Navy land on the island of Vieques.

              Sharpton and three others departed at 7:15 a.m. on a flight from San Juan to New
              York. The others being moved with Sharpton included New York City Councilman
              Adolfo Carrion, New York state legislator Jose Rivera and Bronx County
              Democratic Party chairman Roberto Ramirez.

              They were expected to be taken to a federal detention center in New York, said
              Sharpton's attorney Sanford Rubenstein.

              Sharpton and the others were sentenced in connection with a May 1 protest against
              bombing exercises on Vieques. Of the 11 other activists who were arrested with
              Sharpton, nine were sentenced to 40 days.

              Sharpton was convicted of a misdemeanor but was sentenced as a repeat offender
              because he had prior arrests for civil disobedience in New York.

              Sharpton's lawyers plan to file an appeal with the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
              in Boston, which has jurisdiction over Puerto Rico.

              The Navy has used its range on Vieques, home to 9,400 people, for six decades
              and says it is vital for national security. Critics say it poses a health threat, which the
              Navy denies.

              Opposition to the exercises grew after a civilian guard was killed on the range in
              1999 by two off-target bombs. The Navy has since stopped using live ammunition,
              and islanders will vote in November whether the Navy must leave in 2003 or can
              stay, resuming the use of live ammunition.