Burress lawyer says nightclub incident not intentional criminal act.
Former New York Giant Plaxico Burress finally pleaded guilty to a lesser weapons charge after months of negotiation with the Manhattan district attorney’s office. The original indictment on two counts of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of reckless endangerment was reduced to the one lesser charge and Burress will be sentenced to two years in prison.
The charges stem from an incident that happened in a Latin Quarter nightclub in late November of last year when a gun tucked into Burress’ waistband slipped down his leg and fired, shooting him in the right thigh. The bullet narrowly missed a nightclub security guard and lodged in the floor of the nightclub.
The gun was not licensed in New York or New Jersey, where Burress lived, and Burress did not have a valid concealed weapon permit for New York state. Both Burress and his former teammate Antonio Pierce tried to cover up the incident and did not report it to police. Additionally, neither the security guard at the nightclub nor the hospital staff members who treated Burriss reported the incident to police.
Yet despite all this, Burress’ lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, questioned the two year sentence. To quote Brafman: “This was not an intentional criminal act.” “In my judgment, a two-year prison sentence is a very severe punishment.”
Lets review the details of the case. First, Burress knew he did not have a valid concealed weapons permit yet he still carried a concealed weapon into a nightclub that serves alcohol. In most states, even if you have a concealed weapon permit, you cannot carry concealed into a place that serves alcohol. That was an intentional criminal act on the part of Burress.
Second, Burress knew the gun was not legally registered in either New York or New Jersey. That was an intentional criminal act on the part of Burress.
Third, Burress tried to cover up the whole incident, which is another criminal act. Looks to me like Burress committed several intentional criminal acts. In my opinion Burress is lucky he only received a two year sentence for his crimes. Luckily it is not a crime to be stupid or there could have been another charge added to the original indictment.
Owning a gun is a very serious responsibility with very serious consequences if you do not follow the laws or use common sense. Plaxico Burress is just now finding this out. The whole incident could have been much worse, with either Burress or an innocent bystander being killed.
So all I can say to attorney Bejamin Brafman about his statement that this was not an intentional criminal act is “give me a break.”
