Gilbert Arenas Pleads Guilty To Felony Charges

NBA star and Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas pleaded guilty on Friday to felony gun possession charges. The charges were for carrying a pistol without a license in the District of Columbia. As it is a felony conviction, it could jeopardize his future in the NBA.

Gilbert Arenas, 28, will remain free on bail until his sentencing on March 26th. The charge stemmed from a Dec. 21st incident in which Arenas acknowledged he stored guns in his locker at the Verizon Center. He said, after an argument over a gambling debt, that he took them out and lined them up as a joke on a teammate.

However, other reports indicated that Gilbert Arenas also put a note on them, saying, "pick one," intended for teammate Jaravis Crittenton. Still another initial report stated that the two drew guns on each other, but that has never been substantiated.

Gilbert Arenas is currently also serving an indefinite suspension levied upon him by NBA commissioner David Stern. While Stern initially stayed out of the issue, once Arenas "playfully" pointed his fingers like guns during a pre-game warm-up, and "shot" his fellow teammates, he could hold back no longer.

While no statement from prosecutors was made, Arenas' defense attorney Kenneth Wainstein said Friday that prosecutors have agreed not to seek a sentence longer than the low end of sentencing guidelines. Given that, Arenas may receive as long as six months to two years of probation, or me may receive jail time or some combination of the two. It should be noted that on Friday, Judge Robert E. Morin emphasized he is not bound by prosecutors’ recommendations.

As he pleaded guilty on Friday, we now have an official statement on the events of December 21st. Prosecutor Chris Kavanaugh read a written statement of facts that Arenas agreed to. He said that the charge stemmed from a Dec. 19 dispute with another player over a card game. Kavanaugh did not identify the other player, but it is apparent that he is speaking of Crittenton.

When the disagreement emerged on a flight back from Phoenix, AZ, the other player said they should settle the matter with a fist fight. However, Arenas said he was "too old" for that and suggested he would either burn the other player’s Cadillac Escalade or shoot him in the face. The argument ended with the other player saying he would shoot Arenas in his surgically repaired left knee.

Two days later, Kavanaugh said, Arenas laid out four guns on a chair in front of the other player’s locker with a sign saying, “Pick 1.” When asked, “What is this?,” by the other player, Arenas responded by saying: “You said you were going to shoot me, so I thought you would like some firepower. Pick one.” At this time, the other player said he had his own gun, threw one of lined up weapons across the room and then bradished a gun.

Unfortunately for Arenas, the other player, unlike Arenas, did not admit to bringing a gun into the locker room. It has been reported that authorities have searched Crittenton's home for a gun, however.

It is unclear what the NBA will do. Stern has suspended him, and with a felony conviction, it's most likely that his guilty plea will further delay his return to the basketball court.

Written by Michael Santo
HULIQ.com

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