Crittenton pleads guilty, gets 1 year probation Washington Wizards guard Javaris Crittenton told a D.C. court Monday that he took a pistol to practice last month because he feared that All-Star teammate Gilbert Arenas was going to shoot him in the face or blow up his vehicle over a game of cards.
Crittenton, 22, was then sentenced to one year of probation after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of possession of an unregistered firearm.
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Defense attorney Peter White said Crittenton’s gun was not loaded and he never threatened anyone with it.
“The gun was legally purchased, but bringing it into the District, even for self-defense, violated the city’s strict gun control laws,” White said in a statement. “He looks forward to explaining his actions to the NBA and returning to the basketball court as soon as possible.”
The NBA is expected to suspend Crittenton by the end of the week, ESPN has reported. The NBA has suspended Arenas indefinitely without pay.
On Dec. 21, Crittenton placed a silver-and-black 9 mm semiautomatic handgun in his backpack and took it to practice two days after he and Arenas threatened to shoot each other during a charted flight from Phoenix, prosecutors said. Arenas threatened to shoot Crittenton in the face or blow up his Cadillac Escalade. Crittenton responded that he’d shoot Arenas in his injured leg.
Afterward, teammates told Crittenton that Arenas was going to make good on his threats, prosecutors said.
Crittenton left the gun in his sport utility vehicle, but went back and retrieved the backpack because he feared for his safety, prosecutors said.
When Crittenton entered the Wizards locker room, he found several handguns on a chair in front of his lock with a piece of paper with a message, “Pick 1.” Arenas has said he put the guns there as a joke.
Crittenton threw one of the guns across the locker room, said “I don’t need your gun. I got one of my own,” court documents said. He pulled his own handgun out of his backpack, pointed the weapon downward and showed it to Arenas, prosecutors said.
“You are going to need more than that little gun,” Arenas responded, prosecutors said.
Arlington and D.C. police searched Crittenton’s apartment two weeks ago but did not find the weapon. Prosecutors said Crittenton voluntarily surrendered the gun. His lawyer said Crittenton had never been charged with a crime.
Arenas, 28, faces six to 24 months in prison at his sentencing, scheduled for March 26, according to the U.S. attorney for Washington.
