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Then again, he is a multi-millionaire. Stranger things have happened. He might walk, I am no lawyer.
I am a gun guy, I love my guns, I practice my 2nd amendment rights with vigor.
But this is the very essence of idiocy and the very definition of a felony.
Like it or not, having unlicensed handguns in your possession in your place of employment is highly ing illegal. Nevermind allegedly threatening a coworker with them...youre going to prison, not jail, -you-in-the-ass prison. Especially if this mental midget admitted it already, if that is true (idk), he is totally ed.
If I did that, I'd be in prison, so would you and you and you.
Then again, he is a multi-millionaire. Stranger things have happened. He might walk, I am no lawyer.
I don't believe Vescey on anything.
Lets not forget, its illegal to have a handgun outside of your home or shooting range in DC anyways. There is no concealed carry law.
I will admit to only being mostly certain about that last bit, not completely.
The Wizards aren't the one pressing charges.
DC is. DC lawmakers decided it was a felony, and so he's ed.
The latest.
NBA’s Arenas charged with felony gun possession
By Joseph White
Gilbert Arenas has a court date and an apparent plea deal is in place, signaling a possible quick resolution to at least one side of a guns-in-the-locker-room confrontation that stained the NBA and jeopardized the career of the three-time All-Star.
Arenas was charged Thursday with felony gun possession—one count of carrying a pistol without a license—a crime that carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. The charges were filed in D.C. Superior Court in an “information,” a do ent that indicates a plea bargain has been reached.
The charge came directly from prosecutors and not in the form of an indictment—even though a grand jury has been investigating—and Arenas was listed on the docket for a court appearance Friday afternoon.
Arenas has acknowledged storing four unloaded guns in his locker at the Verizon Center, saying he wanted to keep them away from his young children and didn’t know it was a violation of the city’s strict gun laws. He says he took them out of the locker Dec. 21 in a “misguided effort to play a joke” on a teammate.
The criminal charge came on the same day that the teammate, Javaris Crittenton, had his northern Virginia apartment searched by police looking for a silver- or chrome-colored semiautomatic handgun with a black handle. The search warrant indicated police were investigating crimes that include brandishing a weapon. No evidence was seized, according to court do ents, and Crittenton has not been charged.
Two league officials have said a spat between Arenas and Crittenton began Dec. 19 while players were playing cards and gambling on the team plane during a flight home from a West Coast road trip. Their dispute became heated when the team reconvened for practice two days later. There have been conflicting published accounts as to whether Crittenton had a gun and whether he drew it on Arenas.
Arenas’ lawyer, Crittenton’s lawyer and the NBA had no immediate comment on the criminal charge. Crittenton has previously said he did nothing wrong, and his agent, Mark Bartelstein, said his client was there during the apartment search.
“It went as smooth as it could have gone,” Bartelstein said.
Even if Arenas avoids a jail sentence, the outcome of the legal process will have profound implications on his future in the NBA and specifically with the Wizards. Possession of a gun at an NBA arena is a violation of the league’s collective bargaining agreement, and last week commissioner David Stern suspended Arenas indefinitely without pay pending the outcome of the investigation.
Stern was particularly upset that Arenas repeatedly joked about the matter with reporters and on Twitter and even pantomimed shooting teammates in a pregame huddle before a game at Philadelphia. Arenas attempted, in public at least, to use a “goof ball” defense, saying he meant no harm and never takes anything seriously. Stern, however, said that Arenas was “not currently fit to take the court” and that the 28-year-old player’s conduct will “ultimately result in a substantial suspension, and perhaps worse.”
In addition, the Wizards could attempt to invoke the morals clause found in standard NBA contracts and void the remainder of the six-year, $111 million deal Arenas signed in summer 2008. The players’ union would almost certainly contest such a move.
“We will continue to lend our full support to Gilbert and will assist him in every way possible to see this matter through,” union executive director Billy Hunter said.
Arenas has played in only 34 games since signing the contract because of a knee injury and the gun-related suspension.
Arenas was averaging 22.6 points and 7.2 assists this season for the Wizards, who are 12-25 and in last place in the NBA’s Southeast Division. The team has removed nearly all traces of the once-marketable “Agent Zero” from the Verizon Center, including Arenas merchandise with the jersey No. 0 and a huge banner with his photo.
The case has proved a major distraction for a troubled team. At least seven Wizards players and coach Flip Saunders have appeared before a grand jury or been questioned by authorities, leaving the team without enough players to hold a regular practice on some days. Arenas has been told to stay away from team functions during his suspension, and Crittenton, who has not played this season because of a foot injury, has been excused by the team while the legal process plays out.
“We are aware of the charge filed against Gilbert Arenas today and will continue to follow the ongoing legal process very carefully,” the Wizards said in a statement. “We will also continue to cooperate fully with the proper authorities and the NBA.”
The punishment does not fit the crime. 5 years maximum? Really?
The law is ed up if he is in jail for an extended time.
In fact, bringing unlicensed guns to the "place of business" is indeed a misdemeanor under DC law.
The problem here is that it would be difficult to Arenas to get a court to agree that the locker room is his "place of business" (generally it doesn't apply to work places - it'd be different if he was the Wizards owner).
LOLAllegedly threatening another employee with said guns?
Are you still there? There were no threatenings, that was Vecsey doing his business.
Plus, it's completely irrelevant. If they want to prosecute him for threats with guns then it's a different case. This is exclusively about carrying the unlicensed guns and nothing more.
Highly? yeah, like murder or worse.
You seem to think that carrying the guns to the place of employment is worse or more serious than carrying them in the street. It's not, it's the exact same felony with the exact same penalty.
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And LOL @ anyone who thinks Arenas will get his contract voided because of this. The NBA wasn't even able to void SPrewells contact when he ing chocked the head-coach. Twice! Telfair carried a loaded gun to the team plane (which also qualifies as a work place, just like the locker room) and got a 2 games suspension. And now you think they could just dump a $100 millions contract? Get a grip. The Wizards and the NBA basically forfeited their microscopical chance of voiding Arenas contract once they didn't suspend him once the fact happened - they suspended him for his jokes afterwards. They punished the reaction, not the action. Now they want to void the contract? The arbitration would decide this case in like 3 minutes. Any attempt to void his contract will be ruled as arbitrary because of inconsistency with past practices.
felony is the key word here. i think the wizards can completely make use of that language.
No, they can't.
it's cuz he black
I'm not sure who is more off their rocker, the people who think Arenas won't do time for this, or the people who think he shouldn't.
If he gets off without doing any jail time, it will just be another shining example of a judicial system tilted by the almighty dollar.
Oh, and kudos to the players association for once again making a martyr out of a misfit. Exactly what would a player have to do for them to say, "Okay, maybe he does deserve to have his contract waived"?
What Gilbert did was wrong and he deserves a strong punishment, but it would be sad to see someone serve jail time for something like this in my opinion. The trial and jail time is a large taxpayer expense that is not necessary. Gilbert needs education on firearms and how to respect them. I hate to stereotype but I get the feeling these NBA players never had a parent to take them hunting and show them how to carry and respect firearms. Fine him, sentence him to community service or a very short jail period and move on.
While all this is going on we have bankers and politicians robbing us blind and destroying our economy, and millions of lives in the process. To me this is not right.
Why exactly, would the DA agree to ANY deal? They have him in possession of an unregistered firearm in the DC city limits with a locker room full of witnesses. They have no reason to do a deal. He's dogmeat.
If the entire Wizards team had seen OJ slit Nicole's throat, I think he does time.
They have him cold, with witnesses.
Accordingly to the D.C. Code 22-4504(a), you can't carry a pistol in the DC, without a license issued pursuant to District of Columbia law.
Any person found guilty of this crime may faces a felony conviction and shall be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both. (D.C. Code 22-4504(a)(1))
Every year thousands of people commit this crime. Most of them are... tourists. Simply guys visiting the Hill who bring their darling on them and are completely unaware of the excentric rigueur of DC gun laws. Generally a NG officer gently asks them for the gun and explains the situation to the unhappy pal. They quickly plea to a misdemeanor, a $1.000 fine and, the most funest and doleful consequence, they have to give away their gun.
This is exactly the situation Arenas is in, except for the profile of the case. The fact that he brought the guns to a lockerroom is completely immaterial. And who cares about the witnesses, Arenas confessed - and most of the cases are people who are caught in flagrant.
Do you really, really think that the DA would send all these people to jail? Because if you do, you're clueless beyond redemption.
Last edited by mogrovejo; 01-15-2010 at 01:41 AM.
This has fine, community service, suspension without pay and apology press release written all over it...
BS. Can you give examples of people who served jail time for carrying unloaded unregistered guns?
In fact, the exact opposite happens. People think a guy with a stable job and a family should go to jail for such a thing precisely because he's rich and successful.
Its a high profile case, of course the DA is going to go for the maximum punishment unless they need a plea deal from lack of evidence. No easier way to get elected than to say "look at what I did in that big case so-and-so months ago". Its just like the O.J. robbery case. The prosecution can cast off all doubts of incompetence by nailing someone that everyone knows, and keep their job secure.
Arenas is screwed.
Divorce could prove tough for Arenas, Wizards
By Adrian Wojnarowski
Here’s how the NBA’s most dramatic story takes its next turn, a source said Thursday night: The Washington Wizards’ Gilbert Arenas will plead guilty on Friday in a plea deal on his felony gun possession charge, with the U.S. Attorney’s office recommending to the District of Columbia Superior Court a sentence that doesn’t exceed six months and perhaps doesn’t include prison time at all.
The suggestion to D.C. Superior Court Judge Robert Morin will be that punishment be served with probation and community service, but Morin has the la ude to deliver a harsher penalty. The charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in jail, so the Wizards’ star is still largely at the mercy of Morin.
Nevertheless, Arenas will plead guilty to a single felony count for one of the four guns he brought into the team’s locker room, and now the possibility becomes real that the Wizards will take the abandonment of Arenas to a far greater length and try to terminate the approximate $80 million left on his original $111 million contract.
The Wizards have abandoned Arenas in ways public and private, and would like to void a contract that could free them of a star who has lost his basketball and box-office allure. Arenas knows they don’t want him, and he told that to Washington general manager Ernie Grunfeld when they were still speaking. From the beginning of this sad, sordid saga, the Wizards have made it clear they’re determined to move on without Arenas.
Without prison time, it’s unlikely the Wizards would have a sustainable case to terminate the contract. With it, it’s possible. Whatever the cir stances, the process of trying could have damning consequences should they lose and Arenas eventually returns from a league suspension. The relationship is already fractured beyond repair.
A vicious, nasty fight with Arenas could ultimately unseal and unleash whatever secrets lay within the walls of the Verizon Center. The Wizards will be taking on the wrath of Arenas, the players union and ultimately putting themselves on trial for a culture of enablement that existed for years with the clown prince of basketball.
This case has polarized the Wizards’ locker room – pitting the front office and players against each other – and an unprecedented fight to terminate Arenas’ contract could unravel the franchise. The Wizards better hope they win, because the possibility of trying to reintegrate Arenas into an organization that tried to take away his contract could have colossal complications.
“If they try to terminate his contract and fail, they’re in big trouble,” said a source familiar with the Wizards-Arenas dynamic. “The Wizards don’t want Arenas back in the locker room after they’ve tried to screw him.”
The Wizards have scrubbed Arenas off the Verizon Center billboards and signage, and the NBA was right there with them, eliminating his likeness out of stories and online shopping catalogues. Arenas initially believed the organization was on his side after the Dec. 21 incident, but eventually realized that wasn’t the case. The Wizards moved rapidly to distance themselves once the details of his locker-room showdown with Javaris Crittenton became public.
It’s a shame, because the Wizards marketed and made money on the clown persona that ultimately got Arenas an indefinite suspension by NBA commissioner David Stern, and they don’t deserve the salary-cap relief that voiding his contract would give them. The Wizards’ organization isn’t a victim of Arenas’ recklessness, but a co-conspirator. He’s untradeable now, and they’ve played an immense part in that. Stern could suspend him for the rest of the season – almost assuredly no less than 20 games – but Arenas should be back in a Wizards uniform when the sentence is over.
Sources say Arenas’ attorney had tried hard to plead the case down to four separate misdemeanor charges – one for each gun in the locker room – but Arenas’ past misdemeanor gun possession, as well as the public nature of the case, made it impossible. It took Arenas too long to surround himself with competent counsel and advice, and he paid a price.
His own judgment is horrible, and Arenas should’ve relied on others. He turned his guns into team security, when he probably should’ve hustled them out of the building. He kept talking, when he should’ve stayed silent. He let the Wizards advise him on an attorney, when he should’ve found his own.
Arenas testified to authorities that Crittenton responded to his ill-fated practical joke of laying unloaded guns on Crittenton’s locker room chair with the brandishing of his own weapon. At least one other teammate witness in the locker room backed that story, sources with knowledge of the case said. Yet, sources also said two teammates – Mike Miller and Randy Foye – backed either very little, or none, of that account.
This case was never about Crittenton, and whatever happens to him will have little bearing on the public fallout. He’s been injured this season, and most believe that he’ll never play another game for Washington. The Wizards can make him and his contract go away, and almost assuredly will. Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler could be traded. Grunfeld will have to answer to a new owner soon.
On Friday, Arenas walks into court, cops a plea on a gun charge and now everything goes into motion: The judge, the commissioner, the Wizards. Prison time could complicate Arenas’ future, but without it, the most ironic thing of all could happen to these Wizards: Eventually, they’ll look around, and Gilbert Arenas could be the last man standing.
If he threatened a coworker with a gun, he should go to prison.
If he only brought a gun(s) to the workplace, then no, he shouldnt go to prison.
If what the DA is charging him with is only felony firearms possession, then its believable that he'll plead down.
TBH, I am very surprised he isnt being charged with something related to threatening a coworker with a gun(s). Since that isnt the case (again, I am surprised), then yeah, he's not going to jail of any sort.
And really, you cant blame the DA because if I had to guess, no one in that lockeroom is going to try and get Arenas sent to prison. Depending on the connotation of the incident (if there even was one), I am not sure if I blame them, either.
So basically, this has turned into only an illegal firearms possession in a city with the toughest gun laws I can think of. DA might try for the max as an example but also because he/she cant make the "threat of violence" charge stick.
Either way, no matter what you think...
Arenas is one dumb mother er who is incredibly lucky this little incident didnt go any further than it did. What a moron.
EDITED: I hadnt read duncan's article above before posting this. He is pleading guilty to a felony. Interesting.
Sources say Arenas’ attorney had tried hard to plead the case down to four separate misdemeanor charges – one for each gun in the locker room – but Arenas’ past misdemeanor gun possession, as well as the public nature of the case, made it impossible
Sooooo incredibly lucky, this guy.
Surprise surprise. Wake up dreamers, he's not doing hard time.
Theres a live press conference on TMZ starting any minute now.
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