Bench warrant issued for Arenas

[Pistons < Spurs]

MIAMI (AP) — Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas missed a court hearing Tuesday for his arraignment on a disorderly conduct charge, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Neither Arenas, the Wizards' leading scorer, nor his attorney showed up for the morning arraignment, so Circuit Judge Samuel Slom issued a bench warrant for the player's arrest and set a $2,000 bond.

In response, Assistant State Attorney Kerrie Crockett said Arenas would have been eligible for pretrial diversion.

The Wizards didn't immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Arenas had been out on $1,000 bond. He was arrested during Memorial Day weekend in Miami Beach, a top destination for young people looking to party during the holiday.

Police said fellow Wizards player Awvee Storey had been blocking traffic in the middle of a busy street when an officer told him to get back to the sidewalk. Storey did not get out of the street, and the officer arrested him and charged him with failure to obey a command, police said.

While police were arresting Storey, Arenas got out of a vehicle and walked toward the arresting officers. According to reports, an officer told Arenas to get back in his vehicle, but he refused, saying he wanted to stand next to his teammate. The officer took Arenas into custody and he was charged.

As Arenas was being arrested, according to reports, he said, "You can't arrest me. I'm a basketball player. I play for the Washington Wizards, and I'm not going to leave my teammate."

There was no court hearing for Storey listed in records Tuesday.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/wizards/2006-06-27-arenas-warrant_x.htm

[Obstructed_View]

MIAMI Police said fellow Wizards player Awvee Storey had been blocking traffic in the middle of a busy street when an officer told him to get back to the sidewalk.
Someone needs to expand on this explanation. Brotha was just standing in the middle of a busy street?

[Amare_32]

Typical Miami Beach police. Were they the ones a few years ago that admitted to keeping files on high profile black men that visited the city? Why not give Arenas a ticket and move on. Now they are just dragging his name in the mud for nothing.
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[FromWayDowntown]

Someone needs to expand on this explanation. Brotha was just standing in the middle of a busy street?

According to the report, he wasn't arrested for standing in the middle of a busy street; he was arrested for failing to obey a command that he get out of the middle of a busy street. It seems a bit hokey to me, but it would be against the law in most jurisdictions to ignore a police officer's command.

More here: Arenas and Storey Arrested Thread (http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42764)

I still love Gil's "You can't arrest me, I'm a basketball player" statement.

[Supergirl]

I'll admit that the police probably overreacted to arresting the other guy - though we don't really know what happened - simply because we all know racism is alive and well and racial profiling happens every day.

But WTF is up with Arenas' response? "You can't arrest me, I'm a basketball player?" If he wants to support his teammate, show up in court and help him make a case for racial profiling and overreaction on the part of the police. Go to the media afterwards and talk about it. But disobeying the cops orders to stay in the car (which is standard police procedure) is just stupid and arrogant.

[Amare_32]

I'll admit that the police probably overreacted to arresting the other guy - though we don't really know what happened - simply because we all know racism is alive and well and racial profiling happens every day.

But WTF is up with Arenas' response? "You can't arrest me, I'm a basketball player?" If he wants to support his teammate, show up in court and help him make a case for racial profiling and overreaction on the part of the police. Go to the media afterwards and talk about it. But disobeying the cops orders to stay in the car (which is standard police procedure) is just stupid and arrogant.


Keep in mind that Arenas has denied making that statement. It was also during that busy weekend. Is not to far fetch to think the cops heard something else or just plain made it up.
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[DirkAB]

At first glance I thought it said "Bench warrant issued for Artest." Whew, I'm glad that isn't the case.

[Mixability]

At first glance I thought it said "Bench warrant issued for Artest." Whew, I'm glad that isn't the case.

give it time..... :lol

[Burn531]

Didn't this all happen the night the Heat won the ECF? If that's the case then the cops were probably already dealing with drunks and party animals.

[Pistons < Spurs]

Arenas has court date rescheduled, warrant lifted


MIAMI -- Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas missed a court hearing Tuesday on a charge of resisting an officer without violence, and a warrant was briefly issued before the arraignment was rescheduled.

Neither Arenas, the Wizards' leading scorer, nor his attorney showed up for the morning arraignment. Miami-Dade County Judge Samuel Slom issued a bench warrant for the player's arrest and set a $2,000 bond.

The Wizards contacted the judge on Arenas' behalf and told him the player didn't receive a written notice regarding the court date, Wizards President of Basketball Operations Ernie Grunfeld said in a statement.

Slom then lifted the arrest warrant, canceled the $2,000 bond and rescheduled the arraignment. A date has not been set. Slom said missed first court appearances and rescheduled arraignments are common, especially for people from out of state.

"We are very confident this issue will be resolved," Grunfeld said.

An arrest warrant was issued June 21 for free agent Awvee Storey, who missed his court appearance that day for a criminal traffic charge of disobeying a police order.

Storey's agent Mark Bartelstein said Tuesday his client did not know about the hearing and that he hoped the matter could be resolved with the judge in that case.

Arenas had been out on $1,000 bond. He was arrested during Memorial Day weekend in Miami Beach.

Police said fellow Wizards player Awvee Storey had been blocking traffic in the middle of a busy street when an officer told him to get back to the sidewalk. Storey did not get out of the street, and the officer arrested him and charged him with failure to obey a command.

While police were arresting Storey, Arenas got out of a vehicle and walked toward the arresting officers. According to police reports, an officer told Arenas to get back in his vehicle, but he refused, saying he wanted to stand next to his teammate. The officer took Arenas into custody and he was charged.

As Arenas was being arrested he said, "You can't arrest me. I'm a basketball player. I play for the Washington Wizards, and I'm not going to leave my teammate," according to a Miami Beach police report.

Arenas has publicly denied those statements, and did so again Tuesday.

"Everyone who knows me, knows I don't have a cocky personality," Arenas said in a statement released by the Wizards. "I don't use my name to get in trouble and I don't use my name to get out of trouble. That would never come out of mouth."

Police spokesman Bobby Hernandez said Tuesday that the comments were sworn to by the officer who wrote the arrest document.

"I don't think an officer would perjure himself and risk his career for a misdemeanor arrest," Hernandez said.

Arenas led the Wizards to the Eastern Conference playoffs, where they lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round. He was named to the All-NBA third team and averaged 29.3 points, fourth in the NBA this season.