Former NBA player Javaris Crittenton has pled guilty to manslaughter, due to his role in an Atlanta shooting, which resulted in the death of a mother of 4. During his years in the NBA, Crittenton played for the Lakers, Grizzlies, Wizards, and Bobcats, before finally ending up in China.
Nobody will probably remember him for his great basketball skill, they will remember him for pulling out a gun during a confrontation with Washington Wizards guard, Gilbert Arenas, in 2008. Which led to both of them being suspended for 1 year, and eventually the decline of Arenas’ great career. Arenas at the time was an All-star and was frequently leading the Wizards into the Playoffs, and now he is washed up.
Crittenton faces a 23 year prison sentence, due to the Atlanta shooting, which led to the eventual death of 22 year old, mother of 4, Julian Jones. Javaris was known for his gang relations and according to ESPN’s John Barr, he was with the Crips from the get go:
Prosecutors were preparing to introduce evidence that he joined a street gang his rookie year in the NBA.
Shortly after becoming the 19th overall pick in 2007 and signing a contract with the Los Angeles Lakers for $2.6 million in guaranteed money, Crittenton joined the West Los Angeles street gang known as the Mansfield Gangster Crips.
He also went on to speak about the situation, which led to Crittenton’s eventual arrest and sentence:
Prosecutors said Crittenton was aiming for a man, a rival gang member, who allegedly robbed him days earlier, and that he shot Jones instead, who was an innocent bystander. Crittenton also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault Wednesday, for his attempt to shoot the rival gang member.
Crittenton also was facing attempted murder charges for a second shooting in August 2011, but those charges were dismissed as part of the plea agreement Crittenton accepted Wednesday, Banks said.
Crittenton’s cousin, Douglas Gamble, the driver of the vehicle Crittenton was shooting from on the night Jones was killed, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault Wednesday and was sentenced to three years in prison.
It’s truly an unfortunate circumstance, because if I was in the NBA, I wouldn’t look for gangs to protect me, I would look for security guards, but that’s just me. Javaris essentially had everything, the NBA, money, and he even played some time for the world known Los Angeles Lakers, but he threw his life away.
