Javaris Crittenden Sentenced, More Bad News Bears for Arenas?

[indeedproceed]

Senior Judge Bruce Beaudin ordered Crittenton to do outreach work with young people after accepting his plea Monday to one count of possession of an unregistered firearm.

Prosecutors agreed to drop a second misdemeanor charge of attempted carrying a pistol without a license.

Crittenton apologized for what he called an "embarrassment" and said the incident was out of character. His lawyer says the 22-year-old brought the gun to D.C. because he feared Arenas would carry out threats he had made.

NBA spokesman Tim Frank said the league had no comment at this time.

Arenas pleaded guilty on Jan. 15 to a felony gun charge connected to a locker-room argument that is believed to have involved Crittenton.

Arenas, who is under an indefinite NBA suspension, will learn the ultimate length of the ban by the end of next week, sources told ESPN.com's Chris Sheridan.

This part specifically got me thinking this will not end well for Arenas:

Crittenton apologized for what he called an "embarrassment" and said the incident was out of character. His lawyer says the 22-year-old brought the gun to D.C. because he feared Arenas would carry out threats he had made.

If the court is accepting that as Crittenden's justification, does that mean that the court accepts that Arenas made believable threats to Crittenden's life?

[wdleehi]

definitely not written in a way that helps Gilbert.

[UGotRondod]

It appears Agent Zero is living up to his nickname... sadly.

[Roy Hobbs]

If the court is accepting that as Crittenden's justification, does that mean that the court accepts that Arenas made believable threats to Crittenden's life?

A few things here, from the legal end.  The quote we have in the story is from Crittenden's attorney; it's probably spin.  Now, the prosecution may have bought it -- which could suggest why he's getting to plead to a misdemeanor -- but it doesn't mean the judge did.  In fact, it's likely that the judge didn't make any findings at all about Crittenden's state of mind or potential justification.  He may or may not have explained what happened in open court -- called "allocution" -- but that doesn't mean the judge had to accept that story.

Also, there's no guarantee that Arenas' sentencing judge will be the same one who sentenced JC.  The judge is under no obligation to accept the facts alleged by JC; in fact, the judge will probably never hear them on the record.

The big distinction is that Arenas plead guilty to a felony, and the prosecution will ask for a sentence of up to six months.

[Fafnir]

My guess is that they couldn't find the gun, making it harder to get him for a felony like they did Arenas.