Tuesday 25 February 2014

NYPD: Knicks guard Raymond Felton arrested on gun charges

Raymond Felton was arrested on gun charges on
Raymond Felton was arrested on gun charges on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014. (Credit: Jim McIsaac)
Knicks point guard Raymond Felton faces arraignment Tuesday after being arrested on three counts of criminal possession of a weapon, police said.
The NYPD said Felton, 29, surrendered to police at the 20th Precinct on West 82nd Street in Manhattan at 12:50 a.m. Tuesday and was charged with second-degree, third-degree and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
An NYPD spokesman, Det. James Duffy, said the weapon was an FN Herstal Five-seveN -- a 5.7x28 mm semiautomatic handgun with a magazine capacity of 20 rounds.
Duffy said the weapon, when recovered by police, had 17 rounds in the magazine and another bullet in the chamber.
The second-degree charge is for possession of a loaded firearm, Duffy said, while the third-degree charge is for the ammo clip and the fourth-degree charge for firearm possession.
Duffy also said Felton does not have a license to possess a firearm in New York.
He said that, regardless, neither the weapon nor ammunition is legal in New York City.
The arrest does not involve use of the firearm -- or a menacing incident involving the firearm, a law enforcement source said. That source, who is not being identified because the source was not authorized to speak about specifics of the case, told Newsday that Felton was tied to the weapon after a woman surrendered it at the 20th Precinct on Monday. Police have not released the identity of that woman.
Police said Felton lives on West 63rd Street in Manhattan.
The last time a high-profile New York athlete faced gun charges was November 2008, when Plaxico Burress of the Giants shot himself in the thigh after a pistol tucked into his waistband accidentally discharged in a Manhattan nightclub.
Burress and a teammate were at the Latin Quarter when the gun, a .40 caliber semiautomatic Glock, went off -- the bullet going through Burress' leg and narrowly missing a club security guard.
The gun was not licensed in New York or in New Jersey, where Burress lived. His license to carry a concealed weapon in Florida had expired in May 2008.
Burress testified before a grand jury in July 2009 that the gun was not used to commit a crime and that he was the only victim, but he was indicted on two counts of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of reckless endangerment. In August, Burress pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted weapons possession and was sentenced to 2 years in prison; had he been convicted at trial of the original charge against him, he faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 3½ years in prison. Burress served nearly 2 years at the Oneida Correctional Facility in central New York; he was released June 2011.
Then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg pushed for Burress to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and was irate that officials at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center treated Burress and failed to report the shooting, as required by law.
After his release from prison, Burress played with the New York Jets in 2011 and the NFL team that drafted him, the Pittsburgh Steelers, in 2012. He tore a rotator cuff in a practice with the Steelers in August 2013 and did not play last season.
Felton's surrender to police came hours after the team lost at home to the Dallas Mavericks. Before the game, the Knicks waived reserve point guard Beno Udrih, who started 12 games in Felton's place.
It's been a difficult ninth NBA season for Felton both on and off the court.
The Knicks tried to trade the underperforming point guard before last Thursday's NBA trade deadline but were unsuccessful. It also was reported last week that his wife of 19 months, Ariane Raymondo-Felton, had filed for divorce.
"It's your life," Felton said in Orlando last Friday. "When you're going through certain things in life it's on your mind, no matter what. You try not to let it come into your job, into your workplace, but sometimes it does. You're human and it's a part of life. But at the same time, it is what it is. That's my personal life though, I don't want to discuss that part."
Felton is in his second stint with the Knicks. He was acquired in a sign-and-trade in July 2012 and inked a three-year, $10 million contract after the Knicks decided not to match Houston's offer for Jeremy Lin.
Last season, Felton was the starting point guard on a Knicks' team that won 54 games, their first Atlantic Division championship since 1994 and a playoff series for the first time since 2000.
Felton has struggled on both ends of the court this season. He's averaging 10.4 points and 6.0 assists and his defense against opposing point guard has been a problem. Felton also has missed 15 games due to injury.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Real Time Web Analytics Clicky