Plaxico Burress says club security knew he had a gun the night he shot himself in the

[BettorsChat]

Plaxico Burress says club security knew he had a gun the night he shot himself in the leg

Plaxico Burress said he accidentally shot himself while walking up the stairs in a New York nightclub in November 2008 -- a gunshot landed him in jail for two years after a guilty plea last week.

Plaxico Burress says club security knew he had a gun the night he shot himself in the leg - ESPN

Are you telling me this dumbass got 2 years for shooting himself? There has to be more to it than that??

[bryce]

Nope I think that is pretty much it...he is a dumbass!

[BettorsChat]

Nope I think that is pretty much it...he is a dumbass!

Why was he carrying a gun? Does the State he was in not have concealed weapons permits? Or was he just too dumb to have that?

[bryce]

Why was he carrying a gun? Does the State he was in not have concealed weapons permits? Or was he just too dumb to have that?

If I remember correctly he had a permit...but it expired before the shooting. I believe the permit was from another state as well.

I think his story airs on ESPN tonight.

[bryce]

That Plaxico Burress won't be the first -- or, unfortunately, the last -- athlete to be sent to prison doesn't make it any less sad.

Regardless of what anyone says, it's not a good day when a person who probably had all the adulation, money, friends and material possessions he could dream of ends up plea-bargaining for a two-year prison sentence, as Burress did Thursday.

It's not a good day when yet another guy who had it all, a Super Bowl hero for the Giants two seasons ago, seems to have done his best to throw it all away.

It never mattered why Burress felt the need to carry an unregistered gun with him inside a nightclub last November. It only matters that it was unregistered in New York, and that's against the law there. That brought a charge of attempted criminal possession of a weapon. That Burress accidentally shot himself in the thigh that night only underscored how dumb was his decision.

From the TP archives

December 2008: John DeShazier: Plaxico Burress case is interesting, but not sad


"If Plaxico Burress were not a high-profile individual, there never would be a case," said his lawyer, Benjamin Brafman. "If he were just John Q. Public, he could have walked out of the club and he never would have been arrested."

Perhaps that's true. The Manhattan district attorney's office pretty much stated from the outset, that Burress would receive no preferential treatment -- a sign that he had been made an example.

Obviously, Burress didn't realize he would be held to a higher standard. Many athletes don't seem to understand that, because they're wealthy and famous and overwhelmingly in pursuit of all the "good guy" press they can get. That just makes what happened all the more bothersome.

Nineteen months after helping the Giants win Super Bowl XLII by catching the winning touchdown against New England in a 17-14 victory, and five months after being cut by the Giants, Burress will be sentenced. And with it, his career very well could be over.

Not because he won't be reinstated. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell already has said that Burress' suspension will end when his sentence does. Missing two seasons and losing all the money he could have earned during them is plenty enough punishment.

But Burress will be 34 when he's released. It's hard enough for a productive 34-year-old receiver to hold down a roster spot; there might not be much of a market for a 34-year-old who hasn't played in a couple of seasons.

True, he won't have the same amount of wear and tear as most receivers his age, but that's a lot of rust to knock off for a guy whose reflexes and speed aren't going to get better

Even if there is a market, we'll still spend most of our time talking about all the wonderful things Burress could and should have done on the field, if only the unregistered gun tucked in his waistband hadn't slipped down his leg and fired into his right thigh.

A two-year sentence for attempted criminal possession of a weapon sounds pretty stiff. And fortunately, Burress only injured himself in the fiasco.

But he pleaded to a lesser charge than what he likely would've been convicted of, and two years is less than the minimum 3 1/2-year sentence he could have received if he'd have been convicted at a trial.

The most important thing to remember is this: He wouldn't have to serve a single day in prison if he hadn't broken the law.

"This was not an intentional criminal act," Brafman said. "In my judgment, a two-year prison sentence is a very severe punishment."

It is, and it could've been avoided. As much as anything, that's what makes the whole ordeal sad.

[bryce]

Aug 22, 2009 ... The gun was registered in Florida where he had a permit to carry it. ... Plaxico Buress' ordeal could have been avoided...

[jhedrick]

Aug 22, 2009 ... The gun was registered in Florida where he had a permit to carry it. ... Plaxico Buress' ordeal could have been avoided...

Burress gun permit in the state of Florida reciprocated in 32 of our 50 states. So if he shot himself in my town of charlotte, nc, it wouldnt even have been a misdemeanor. However the same act comes with a 2 year jail sentence in the state of NY. IMO the sentence was far too harsh, our judicial system has shown us that the possibility of harming someone is far greater than the act itself...

[bryce]

Burress gun permit in the state of Florida reciprocated in 32 of our 50 states. So if he shot himself in my town of charlotte, nc, it wouldnt even have been a misdemeanor. However the same act comes with a 2 year jail sentence in the state of NY. IMO the sentence was far too harsh, our judicial system has shown us that the possibility of harming someone is far greater than the act itself...

I agree--regardless of him possibly almost hurting someone else---he didn't---he shot himself and that to me is punishment enough. I think he learned a valuable lesson by just that.

[jhedrick]

I agree--regardless of him possibly almost hurting someone else---he didn't---he shot himself and that to me is punishment enough. I think he learned a valuable lesson by just that.

certainly the state of NY could have come up with a punishment that would have benefited the city more than placing him behind bars for twenty months...

[BettorsChat]

Burress gun permit in the state of Florida reciprocated in 32 of our 50 states. So if he shot himself in my town of charlotte, nc, it wouldnt even have been a misdemeanor. However the same act comes with a 2 year jail sentence in the state of NY. IMO the sentence was far too harsh, our judicial system has shown us that the possibility of harming someone is far greater than the act itself...

This does seem like too harsh of a sentence. His playing career will probably be over now. Hopefully the guy didn't blow all of his monies.

[ToDaClub]

Plaxico Burress says club security knew he had a gun the night he shot himself in the leg

Plaxico Burress said he accidentally shot himself while walking up the stairs in a New York nightclub in November 2008 -- a gunshot landed him in jail for two years after a guilty plea last week.

Plaxico Burress says club security knew he had a gun the night he shot himself in the leg - ESPN

Are you telling me this dumbass got 2 years for shooting himself? There has to be more to it than that??

If security knew he had a gun, does that make it legal? If security knows a 20 year old is drinking in the bar, does that make it legal?

The statements he made make no sense at all!

[BettorsChat]

If security knew he had a gun, does that make it legal? If security knows a 20 year old is drinking in the bar, does that make it legal?

The statements he made make no sense at all!

No, it doesn't make it legal. However, if the club did know someone should be getting into trouble over there for allowing him in with a gun.

[poskid]

No, it doesn't make it legal. However, if the club did know someone should be getting into trouble over there for allowing him in with a gun.

I agree with this statement.

I'm the biggest pro-gun advocate known to man...But unfortunately there are certain states where the laws are very strict and provide harsh punishments for breaking them. Whether we agree with the punishment or not doesnt matter. He ultimately broke the law and pleaded to a lesser punishment than they could have sought in court...which by judging by the case built in the public so far they would have EASILY won. And his lawyer stating that John Q Public wouldnt have been arrested is ludicrous. He discharged a weapon in a public place in one of the strictest gun law states in the union. Anyone would have been arrested PERIOD...

Now if you want to argue about whether the prosecuter would have been as zealous about throwing the book at him is definately worthwhile.

PK

[BettorsChat]

I agree with this statement.

I'm the biggest pro-gun advocate known to man...But unfortunately there are certain states where the laws are very strict and provide harsh punishments for breaking them. Whether we agree with the punishment or not doesnt matter. He ultimately broke the law and pleaded to a lesser punishment than they could have sought in court...which by judging by the case built in the public so far they would have EASILY won. And his lawyer stating that John Q Public wouldnt have been arrested is ludicrous. He discharged a weapon in a public place in one of the strictest gun law states in the union. Anyone would have been arrested PERIOD...

Now if you want to argue about whether the prosecuter would have been as zealous about throwing the book at him is definately worthwhile.

PK

I believe somewhere it said the maximum he could get was 42 months so he took the 2 years and will server 20 months. I think the prosecutor threatened them with the max, but so they would agree to a settlement. It's not like the guy didn't have the money to fight them. I think he was afraid that he would server 42 months instead of 20 months.

As for if it was an average Joe that did it. I think his attorney is saying that they wouldn't be getting the sentence that he got. Without Case law or rulings I don't know if that's true or not, but if it is then the prosecutor was making an example out of him.

[poskid]

From the TP archives

December 2008: John DeShazier: Plaxico Burress case is interesting, but not sad


"If Plaxico Burress were not a high-profile individual, there never would be a case," said his lawyer, Benjamin Brafman. "If he were just John Q. Public, he could have walked out of the club and he never would have been arrested."

Burress should get his money back from this idiot. Whether you want to argue intent of message these are his exact words. I agrre that if the lawyer had strictly stuck to the high profile client gets unusually crappy punishment would have been fine. To state that anyone else would have simply walked away without even getting arrested is stupidity. I'm never using Braffman should any of my old skeletons come knocking

PK