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Burress Charged With Two Felony Counts

by Anthony De Rosa on December 1st, 2008 at 6:15 pm

ESPN reports that Plaxico Burress was charged with two felony counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree Monday and released on a $100,000 bond. The Smoking Gun has copies of the court documents.

Burress did not enter a plea on the class C felony charges, though his attorney said Burress planned to plead not guilty. Burress was ordered to return March 31.

A criminal complaint released by the prosecution reveals more details about the incident. A witness heard a popping sound before Burress’ legs began to shake. It says the person saw a bloody pistol fall out of his pant leg and land on the floor.

Police said Burress and Antonio Pierce arrived at the club around 11:30 p.m. Friday. Burress was allowed to bypass security, even though they knew he was armed. Around 12:05 a.m., as Burress was being escorted to a VIP area with a drink in one hand, he somehow ended up fumbling his gun and it discharged, hitting his thigh. Pierce was with him when that occurred, police said. Pierce was interviewed by NFL security at the Giants’ hotel Saturday in Washington, Giants general manager Jerry Reese said.

It’s believed Pierce took Burress to the car and then left with him, according to police. The .40-caliber Glock was found in the glove compartment of Pierce’s Cadillac Escalade, but it’s unclear who put the weapon there. The gun was eventually recovered at Burress’ house in New Jersey, authorities said.

Police are unclear about what happened in the two hours that followed. Burress showed up at the hospital around 2:20 a.m, and was discharged at 1 p.m. Saturday. Hospital administrators could face charges for withholding information about Burress.

The New York Daily News has reported that Pierce tried to hide Burress’ gun. Pierce refused to answer questions about the incident at yesterday’s game.
  • BiggieSmalls

    Im seeing some parallels to Tank Johnson when he was with the Bears.

    If you remember he was caught with a gun in a club and ended up with a suspended sentence and probation.

    When he violated that probation by having multiple guns in his home he was given an 8 game suspension by Goodall. Goodall has spoken out many times on athletes and guns since he became commissioner.

    Plax is definitely in line for a suspension by Goodall,.. Probably 8 weeks to be made an example of

  • http://www.prosportsnation.com Koko

    First, I’m all for stricter gun registration/licensing laws. I’m also all for the Giants parting ways with Burress.

    But, 3.5 years for carrying an unlicensed gun in a city/state you don’t own a house, where people come and go on a daily/hourly basis from other states seems more than a tad harsh. I know the intent of the law, which in principle I agree with, but 3.5 years? What if someone was visiting from Texas and didn’t license his gun while in the city for a few days, does he get 3.5 years too? Seems like manslaughterer’s, felony thieves, etc probably get away with less than 3.5 years…

    I don’t know what the gun laws are in NJ (Plaxico’s state of residence). but seems like he should be governed under those laws since he was just ‘visiting’ NYC for a few hours.

    He’s a first time offender and didn’t hurt anyone but his idiotic self. Sure punish him. Give him a few months in prison. Probation. The inability to get a gun license for x number of years…..But 3.5 years? Really? And all this news coverage. You would have thought that he was Michael Jackson or OJ Simpson or something. Just crazy media blitz over this.

    I’d like to see how many unlicensed gun owners are in the NFL and other sports. I think the leagues might be a tad surprised.

    Anyway, to me (us) it’s a big story because he plays for the team we love, but in the grand scheme of things is it really that important that Katie Curcio has to report on it? Or for ESPN to have non-stop coverage on it, while they could be taking a note from the President-Elect and start talking about how, in 2010, they’ll take College Football and make changes for the better….