Updated

An 89-year-old Indiana man who transported more than 1,000 pounds of cocaine across the country says he has dementia and should be kept out of prison.

Leo Sharp is returning to Detroit federal court on May 7 for his sentence — his 90th birthday.

Sharp pleaded guilty last fall. The Michigan State Police caught him in 2011 with more than 200 pounds of cocaine on Interstate 94, although it wasn't the first haul for the Michigan City, Ind., man.

Secretly recorded conversations show drug dealers liked to call him the "old man."

In a court filing Tuesday, Sharp's attorney says putting him in prison would be an expensive burden for the government.

Darryl Goldberg says Sharp was a World War II hero who was awarded the Bronze Star.