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New York point guard pleads guilty to felony charges for a gun

On Behalf of | Jun 27, 2014 | Felonies |

A New York Knicks point guard, Raymond Felton, recently entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors on gun charges stemming from a domestic incident involving his estranged wife. Police filed felony charges against Felton after his wife’s divorce lawyer brought his fully loaded, semiautomatic handgun to the a police station and complained that she didn’t want it in the house anymore. The agreement requires pleading guilty to a felony gun charge, putting in 500 hours of community service, paying a $5,000 fine, registering as a gun offender and giving up any right to appeal the case.

Apparently more serious than the gun possession was the charge for the illegal 20-round extended magazine loaded with 18 rounds of live ammunition. That charge exposed him to a maximum seven years in prison. The player reportedly kept the gun under the bed of the couple’s New York apartment. According to the charges, he did not register the gun in New York.

Perhaps just as problematic in Felton’s life is the fact that he just completed his worst season in basketball, and witnessed a losing season for the Knicks as well. He has two years remaining on his contract, which is reportedly worth $7.75 million. In any event, his future with the Knicks is speculative. Additionally, he now faces punishment by the NBA for the criminal violation.

Although a player convicted of a violent felony gets at least a 10-game suspension, a violent felony is defined as the use or threat to use a deadly weapon. In this case, the reported facts don’t indicate the New York player’s use or threat to use the gun. He is supposedly expecting to resume his NBA career without further repercussions from the felony charges and the subsequent guilty plea. Whether he is able to do that in New York remains to be seen. Apparently, the divorce case with his wife is proceeding forward in the courts.

Source: Yahoo Sports, “Knicks’ Raymond Felton to plead guilty to weapon charge, avoid jail time after February arrest“, Dan Devine, June 23, 2014

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