A D.C. judge rejected a plea bargain Wednesday in the trial of local basketball star Lonny Baxter, sending him to jail for two months on gun charges instead.
Baxter’s face remained stoic, but family members in the audience quietly broke down in tears as Superior Court Judge Craig Iscoe told the former University of Maryland star: “I cannot agree to probation. I’m sorry [but] you’re the one that will have to suffer the consequences of your actions.”
Baxter, 27, pleaded guilty Wednesday after his attorneys reached a deal with prosecutors that would have spared him jail time, and instead put him immediately on probation.
But Iscoe refused to endorse the deal, emphasizing that Baxter should not receive special treatment because of his fame — Baxter also played with the Washington Wizards. Iscoe critically questioned the defense’s argument for leniency, stressing the severity of Baxter’s actions and emphasizing the athlete’s past arrest on a similar crime.
Baxter and acquaintance Francis Martin were stopped early on the morning of Aug. 16 after Baxter fired two shots from an unregistered pistol out the window of his sport utility vehicle. The two men were driving between 16th and 17th streets NW, about three blocks from the White House.
Baxter and Martin were charged with one count of possession of an unregistered firearm and one count ofunlawful possession of ammunition, both misdemeanors, along with one count of carrying a pistol without a license. All charges against Martin were dropped before Wednesday’s hearing. Baxter had been convicted in 2004 on similar charges after he accidentally fired an unregistered shotgun out his Northwest apartment window and into another.
Baxter, a Silver Spring native, helped lead Maryland to the 2002 national championship and was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the second round in 2002. He also played briefly with the Wizards and was scheduled to play for an Italian team this fall. University of Maryland coach Gary Williams spoke at Wednesday’s hearing on his former player’s behalf.
Baxter, himself, expressed remorse and shame on Wednesday, apologizing “to the court, the District of Columbia, and my family” for his “careless, selfish” actions.
