Star will be sentenced for December gun stunt
The Gilbert Arenas gun case has been compared to the Latrell Sprewell choking incident with P.J. Carelismo in 1997 — as a precedent for whether the Wizards could try to void Arenas’ contract. It has been mentioned in the same breath as Stephen Jackson’s shooting episode outside a nightclub in 2007, for the length of Jackson’s NBA suspension.
But when it comes to the sentence that Arenas may be handed down when he goes before D.C. Superior Court judge Robert E. Morin on Friday, a non-basketball case might have the most in common.
“The name that keeps cropping into my head is Martha Stewart because it’s one thing to do something wrong,” said Clifford Fishman, a Catholic University criminal law professor and moderate Wizards fan. “But what really gets the Fed angry at you is when you start to cover up, or lie about what you did.”
Stewart famously served a five-month prison sentence in 2004 after lying about a stock sale.
As part of the deal on Jan. 15 in which Arenas plead guilty to a felony count of carrying a pistol without a license, prosecutors agreed not to ask for more than six months of jail time for the Wizards guard. In a memorandum filed Tuesday, assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Kavanaugh recommended a three-month jail term, followed by three years of probation and 300 hours of community service.
But the filing also said Arenas repeatedly lied about his Dec. 21 locker room confrontation with Javaris Crittenton. Judge Morin, who is not bound by the plea agreement, could be persuaded by the government or the character portrayal submitted by Arenas’ attorney that reiterated that the incident was a “misguided attempt to play a prank.”
Paul Butler, a former federal prosecutor and law professor at George Washington University, said the District of Columbia isn’t known for being lenient on criminals and may want to send a message.
“I think the deterrence factor is going to be important here,” said Butler. “This is a high-profile case. And part of what will be in the judge’s mind is sending a message to everybody who is going to be watching what happens here, especially to young African-American residents of the District of Columbia who look up to Mr. Arenas and will be very interested in what happens to him.”
