Delonte West Indicted on Weapons Charges
It appears that the happiness regarding Delonte West’s return to the hardwood may be a bit short-lived. With the Cavaliers hosting the Washington Wizards tonight, it is the D.C. area that has officially indicted the guard on the weapons charges from a few weeks ago.
Prince George’s County (Md.) State’s Attorney Glenn F. Ivey announced today that West was indicted by a grand jury on a wide array of weapons counts, more expansive than the two-gun possession charges police applied when he was arrested following a traffic stop Sept. 17 outside of Washington, D.C.
West has been indicted on two counts of carrying a dangerous weapon, two counts of carrying a handgun, two counts of transporting a handgun, and one count of reckless driving and one count of negligent driving. If convicted, West could face up to three years for each of the six gun charges and a $2,500 fine per offense.
And if you thought that was it, think again. It appears that West was actually a little more Mo Clarett than we had originally heard. On top of the three guns – one in a guitar case - that were found on West, he also had a little more of an arsenal.
[The] police found a total of 112 shotgun shells, most of them in a camel-style backpack West was also carrying on his Can-Am Spyder three-wheeled motorcycle. Also, for the first time it was revealed that West was carrying an 8.5-inch Bowie-style knife when officers arrested him.
Honestly, all he was missing was the bulletproof jacket and lint roller.
There is a very solid chance that the NBA will have no choice but to suspend West for a handful of games. The results of both situations remain to be seen.
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Cleveland Cavaliers guard Delonte West indicted on additional weapons and traffic charges in Maryland [Cleveland.com]
November 3rd, 2009 at 4:15 pm
What? No kitchen sink?
November 3rd, 2009 at 4:15 pm
The DC area will stop at nothing to try and get Wizards a win over the Cavs.
November 3rd, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Oy!
November 3rd, 2009 at 4:18 pm
I highly doubt that a PG Chillin’ jury will put him in jail. That being said, the deets here are troubling for sure.
November 3rd, 2009 at 4:20 pm
In Virginia he would have gotten a traffic violation. Stupid Maryland.
November 3rd, 2009 at 4:27 pm
No Goose?
November 3rd, 2009 at 4:38 pm
A part of me wants to just assume he was otw to or from a gun range. If that was the case this seems a little extreme. He wasn’t waving a gun around or making threats… Give the man a fine for carrying the weapons without a lisence and get him back on the court for his mental health.
November 3rd, 2009 at 4:41 pm
not good not good at all….He IS a HUGE part of this offense and team…
November 3rd, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Only in Cleveland…….
November 3rd, 2009 at 5:03 pm
Anybody know if Delonte has any prior convictions for anything?
November 3rd, 2009 at 5:08 pm
There is a chance that he could do serious time for these offenses. The Md court could treat this in a similar manner to the Burress case in NYC.
November 3rd, 2009 at 5:10 pm
The six gun charges look to me like two charges with lesser included offenses.
I would not be surprised if he rode that way often, if for no reason other than it just felt transcendent to be armed like that.
November 3rd, 2009 at 5:13 pm
I hear Stephen Jackson’s looking for a team.
November 3rd, 2009 at 5:17 pm
Hopefully the thing that helps him is the fact that he was cooperative and didn’t do anything stupid after her got pulled over. And he’s bipolar which by no means makes this OK but it’s a legitimate “excuse.”
November 3rd, 2009 at 5:22 pm
@ #11 – except that he didn’t discharge one of them and, you know, shoot someone.
Don’t let minor details get in the way though.
November 3rd, 2009 at 5:30 pm
@ # 11 and # 15 –
And NYC has mandatory sentencing for gun violations. I didn’t notice the word mandatory in the text above.
November 3rd, 2009 at 6:48 pm
The thing is – you charge with everything – convict on a minor gun and both lesser charges –> unless its another DA (a la Plaxico Burress; Duke Lacrosse team) who likes to treat athletes different than regular people (which can be it’s on debate).
I know it’s typical that athletes/celebrities get lesser penalties than the general public, but those times seem to have changed. Although, I imagine, in DC, weapons charges of this nature are more common than you’d think.
November 3rd, 2009 at 7:19 pm
18 years in the hole! How playuh is that?!
November 3rd, 2009 at 8:58 pm
no hatchet?
November 3rd, 2009 at 11:53 pm
Has anyone asked the obvious question.. Was he wearing a leather Hells Angels vest and a bandanna?
November 4th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
I have a question. Doesn’t the constitution protect ones right to keep and bare arms? How can it possibly be against the law to be “carrying a handgun.” or to “transport a handgun” So what!? How can these laws not be declared unconstitutional?
November 4th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
@ Jbone – I’m not a lawyer or lawmaker, but I think the issue is likely the fact that they were loaded while being transported.
November 4th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
I know it is odd, to say the least, to carry all that fire power, and you do have to wonder what he was up to. But as far as I can tell, he was caught speeding, he did not fire his weapons, and I have yet to hear anyone prove that he was up to no good. He could have been on his way home from the gun range.
I get that you can’t carry conceled loaded weapons without a permit. Doesn’t really sound like they were conceled and nobody has reported that they were loaded (what good is an unloaded gun, by the way). They haven’t proven he was about to cause harm to anyone. The potential punishment just doesn’t seem to fit the crime.
FREE DELONTE NOW!
November 4th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
i no people who walk around in philly with more then wat he had bt anyway day jst mad
November 9th, 2009 at 10:01 am
[...] Backcourt depth continues to be an issue for the Cavaliers despite the recent strong play of Daniel Gibson and the return of West. Gibson has been known to cool off from time to time and disappear for extended periods. West has the ongoing issue with his bi-polar disorder and could miss games with a possible suspension from the lingering weapons charges. [...]