Knicks point guard Raymond Felton was arrested on three counts of criminal possession of a weapon early Tuesday after his estranged wife went to cops with his gun, sources said.
The struggling Felton was charged with second- and third-degree criminal possession of a firearm — all felonies — and an additional misdemeanor charge (fourth-degree possession), an NYPD spokesman said.
The 29-year-old Felton is slated to appear in criminal court in Manhattan later Tuesday morning.
The Knicks guard was cuffed when he turned himself in for questioning at the 20th precinct in Manhattan at about 12:50 a.m., just hours after the Knicks latest loss — this time to the Dallas Mavericks, 110-108, at the Garden. The eight-year NBA veteran in his second stint with the Knicks, scored eight points and had seven assists in Monday night's loss.
Felton surrendered after a lawyer for his wife, Ariane Raymondo-Felton, 26, brought a Belgian pistol — an FNH 5.7x28-mm. — that belonged to the hoops star, sources said.
The raven-haired beauty — a Cornell University grad who is now studying at Fordham University School of Law — filed for divorce from Felton after the couple married just 19 months ago and, according to a police source, was uncomfortable that the handgun was being kept in the home.
"She had knowledge that the gun was there," the source said. "She said she didn't want the gun there anymore."
Felton told the Daily News last week that he wasn't letting the reported divorce affect his game.
“It’s your life,” Felton said. “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.”
He has played poorly this season, and the Knicks unsuccessfully tried to trade him prior to the Feb. 20 trade deadline.
Felton faces New York City's strict gun possession laws. In 2009, New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress was sentenced to two years in prison after accepting a plea deal on a firearm charge following an incident in which he suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his thigh when his gun accidentally went off in a Manhattan nightclub.
The Knicks are off Tuesday, with no practice scheduled, before returning to action Thursday in Miami against the Heat.
The news of Felton's arrest comes as the Knicks have just bought out backup point guard Beno Udrih's contract.
The Knicks acquired Felton in July of 2012 to replace Jeremy Lin, the point guard from Harvard whose brief run in New York electrified the city.
However, Garden Chairman James Dolan made the controversial decision not to match a four-year, $30 million offer sheet Lin signed with the Houston Rockets. Dolan felt betrayed by Lin and instructed then general manager Glen Grunwald to find an alternative.
Despite Lin's popularity and global appeal, Dolan turned to Felton, a player the Knicks had originally included in the Carmelo Anthony deal with Denver. Felton eventually landed in Portland but quickly fell out of favor with the Blazers organization and fans because he was admittedly out of shape.
Felton played well last season for the Knicks as they won 54 games. However, Jason Kidd was seen as the main reason why the Knicks played better as a team and were more organized offensively.
nydailynews
No comments:
Post a Comment