Former Washington Wizard Jarvis Crittenton was arrested on murder charges late Monday before boarding a plane at a Los Angeles airport, authorities said.
Crittenton, who was suspended from the NBA for having guns in a locker room in downtown D.C. during his dispute with teammate Gilbert Arenas, was wanted on a federal arrest warrant in the murder of a 22 year-old mother, Julian Jones, in Atlanta. Police said Jones was not the intended target.
Atlanta police said the motive appears to have been a robbery in which Crittenton was a victim.
His lawyer said Crittenton was not guilty of the slaying and was boarding a plane to Atlanta to turn himself in late Monday night.
Crittenton, a former first-round draft pick, was convicted of possession of an unregistered firearm last year. He said he took the gun to practice in December 2009 because he feared that the all-star Arenas was going to shoot him or blow up a vehicle over a game of cards.
