Jail Time Looming for Arenas?
February 02, 2010
Gilbert Arenas entered a guilty plea on January 15th for failure to register a firearm as required by District of Columbia ordinance (DC ST 1981 § 22-4504(a)(1)). The charges arose after an altercation occurred between Arenas and fellow teammate Javaris Crittenton involving an outstanding gambling debt. Arenas and Crittenton stored multiple firearms in their lockers in violation of DC gun laws and NBA League Policy. Both players proceeded to display those firearms as apparent threats to the other, though there is no evidence to suggest any type of old west standoff between the two players. Arenas claims that he placed the guns in front of Crittenton’s locker with a note stating, “Pick One”, as a joke and was not intended as a threat. Crittenton responded in kind by producing his own weapon and chambering a round.
The District of Columbia possesses some of the most stringent gun laws in the United States. During the 1980’s and early 90’s, the nation’s capital had the highest homicide rate in the country. Many of the ordinances that the City Council has passed are aimed at curbing this trend. Despite a 2008 Supreme Court ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller which struck down portions of the District’s Firearms Control Regulation Act of 1975, there are still bans on carrying guns, openly or concealed. There are also severe penalties placed on parties for failing to register their guns with District officials.
Arenas cooperated with DC law enforcement and as a result the District Attorney agreed to recommend that Arenas serve no more than 6 months in prison. However, presiding Judge Robert Morin is not bound by the D.A.’s recommendations and may impose harsher penalties at his discretion.
In 2004 Arenas pleaded no contest to illegal gun possession in California. Along with his attempts to make light of the current episode by brandishing his fingers as mock guns prior to a game earlier this month and his response to Judge Morin’s question at his January 15th plea hearing regarding the maximum penalty associated with his crime (Arenas replied 6 months; the correct answer is 5 years), Arenas is facing an uphill battle. The situation was made worse following Javaris Crittenton’s plea agreement on January 25th. Crittenton was sentenced to one year probation after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge. According to news reports on Crittenton’s statement, the Wizard’s guard indicated a genuine fear for his safety stemming from Arenas’ apparent “joke”. This is likely to influence Judge Morin’s sentencing decision and may not bode well for Arenas in the long run.
It’s a possibility that we may not see Arenas on an NBA court again until the 2012 season, and that’s assuming David Stern does not impose an additional suspension following any prison sentence. If Arenas were confronted with this worst case scenario, he may not be able to play until some point during the 2012-13 season, at which point Arenas would be 31 and on the down side of his career.
-Adam Renon