| Associated Press reported this morning that former NBA star Jayson Williams made a plea agreement that could put the former pro behind prison bars for up to three years. Williams is charged with shooting a paid private limo driver in New Jersey in 2002.
A person close to the case said Williams will "plead guilty to aggravated assault" on Friday and will have to serve at least 18 months in prison.
Jurors were deadlocked over the reckless manslaughter count in the first trial, but convicted Williams of covering up the shooting. Williams retired back in 2000 after playing nine seasons in the NBA for the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Nets. The plea deal would resolve all charges in a case that dragged out for nearly eight years.
According to witnesses who testified at the trial, Williams was showing off his shotgun in his bedroom in February of 2002. Williams snapped the weapon shut and it fired one shot that struck driver Costas Christofi in the chest, killing him. Witnesses also testified that Williams initially placed the gun in the dead man's hands and instructed those present to lie about what happened. The defense has maintained the shooting was an accident and that Williams panicked afterward.
Williams and journalist Steve Friedman co-wrote Williams's biography "Loose Balls: Easy Money, Hard Fouls, Cheap Laughs, and True Love in the NBA". The book claims Williams almost shot New York Jet's wide receiver Wayne Chrebet while firing a large handgun on his skeet-shooting range. |
