Washington Wizard's Player Gilbert Arenas Sentenced in Illegal Gun Possession Case

WASHINGTON, March 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Gilbert Arenas, a 28-year-old member of the NBA's Washington Wizards, was sentenced today in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to an 18-month suspended prison term and placed on two years of probation for a felony charge of Carrying a Pistol Without a License, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Cathy L. Lanier. Arenas received the sentence this afternoon before Judge Robert Morin, who also ordered that Arenas spend 30 days in a halfway house as a condition of his probation, complete 400 hours of community service, and pay a fine of $5,000. The sentence stems from Arenas' decision to bring four handguns into the Verizon Center in December of 2009 as part of an ongoing dispute with fellow teammate Javaris Crittenton.

According to the information provided to the Court by the United States, the dispute between Arenas and Crittenton stemmed from an argument the teammates had on a plane two days earlier in December 2009. During the argument, Arenas and Crittenton threatened to shoot one another. Although Arenas maintains that the statements he made during this exchange were made in jest, Crittenton and other witnesses took the threats seriously. On December 21, Arenas arrived at the Verizon Center, carried four handguns into the locker room, placed the handguns on Crittenton's chair, and left a note stating "Pick 1." When Crittenton saw the handguns and the note, he responded to this perceived threat by pulling out his own handgun, surprising Arenas, and creating a tense situation in the locker room that caused other members of the Wizards organization to flee the locker room. Eventually, both Arenas and Crittenton put their weapons away.

In the hours and days following this confrontation, Arenas provided conflicting accounts regarding when, how and why he brought the handguns into the Wizards' locker room. Further, he attempted to conceal the fact that he and Crittenton had a confrontation, and went so far as to suggest to Crittenton that Crittenton should deny possessing a handgun in the locker room during the confrontation.

Arenas, who has a prior misdemeanor conviction for violating handgun possession laws in the State of California, pled guilty in this case to a felony charge of Carrying a Pistol Without a License on January 15, 2010.

"The citizens of the District of Columbia and this United States Attorney's Office have made it clear that illegal possession of handguns in our city is not acceptable," said U.S. Attorney Machen. "Put simply, carrying weapons unlawfully in the District of Columbia will not be tolerated and will have consequences. Mr. Arenas is now a convicted felon, which should serve as a reminder that those who illegally possess firearms in the city, no matter who they are, will be held accountable."

In announcing today's sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen and MPD Chief Lanier praised the work of MPD Detectives Robbie Saunders, Timothy Smith, and Joseph Oh, Officer Jeff Janczyk, and Sergeant James Black of MPD's Intelligence Branch. He also acknowledged the efforts of members of his own staff including Investigators Christopher Brophy and Larry Grasso, Paralegal Kalisha Johnson-Clark, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh, who is handling the investigation and prosecution of this matter.

SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice