Grand Jury Rules on Plaxico Burress

The grand jury has made their decision and NFL players Plaxico Burress and Antonio Pierce, they’ve received very different decisions. The grand jury has indeed indicted Plaxico on felony gun charges. While that same grand jury has ruled Antonio Pierce will not be indictment on charges for his involvement. Plaxico’s decision coming within minutes.

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“At the time the defendant shot himself, he was not licensed to carry … that pistol in either New York or New Jersey, where he had a home,” Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau said in a statement.

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Here are the official charges. He’s been indicted on two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, class C violent felonies. He also was indicted on a reckless endangerment charge in the second degree, a class A misdemeanor. My thinking is the misdemeanor charge was added that way there is a lower charge he can plea down too.

Burress is facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 3.5 years for possession of a loaded and unlicensed firearm after shooting himself in the leg. There are ways he can serve less thou. Those would be a plea bargain or a compassionate judge who feels the sentence would be too long.

So Burress will be serving jail time, that’s without a doubt. A trial could happen in February or March, so does commissioner Roger Goodell allow him to play football this season? When it came to Michael Vick, Roger suspended him indefinitely while the legal process ran its course. Will he do the same with Plax?

If he doesn’t will any team sign him? Will any team want that season long distraction? I doubt it and I think Plax joins Vick in football purgatory. His best bet might be to sign with the UFL to stay in shape.

Now to Antonio Pierce. While Burress brought the gun and shot himself, Pierce did take the weapon with him back to New Jersey. So yes, technically he was also in possession of a loaded and unlicensed firearm. The DA’s office was most likely looking at him for possible charges to show how serious they are about guns.

For the New York Giants, this is just perfect. A loss of Pierce would of been absolutely crippling to their defense. Pierce is the leader and the one true veteran amongst the linebackers. It also helps minimize the distractions that would of surrounded the team throughout the season.