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SKOKIE, Ill. (AP) - Chicago Bears defensive tackle Tank Johnson will play in the Super Bowl.
Cook County Judge John Moran approved a defense request Tuesday to allow Johnson to leave the state as he awaits trial on gun possession charges. The Bears will play the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl in Miami on Feb. 4.
Johnson was arrested Dec. 14 after police raided his home in Gurnee, about 40 miles northwest of Chicago. Prosecutors say officers found six weapons and ammunition in Johnson's home. He faces 10 counts of possession of firearms without a state gun-owner identification card.
It was his third arrest in 18 months. Johnson has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Earlier this month, a judge in Lake County, where his home is located, granted a defense request to allow Johnson to travel freely outside the state.
But Cook County prosecutors argued that Johnson's December arrest violated probation from a 2005 gun charge. A Cook County judge previously ordered Johnson to stay at home except to go to work, and he needed Moran's permission to leave Illinois for the Super Bowl.
Johnson's bodyguard, Willie B. Posey, was arrested on felony drug charges after the raid on Johnson's home; Posey was shot and killed two days later during an early morning fight while he and Johnson were at a nightclub in Chicago.
The Bears suspended Johnson for one game for being out at the club.
Cook County Judge John Moran approved a defense request Tuesday to allow Johnson to leave the state as he awaits trial on gun possession charges. The Bears will play the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl in Miami on Feb. 4.
Johnson was arrested Dec. 14 after police raided his home in Gurnee, about 40 miles northwest of Chicago. Prosecutors say officers found six weapons and ammunition in Johnson's home. He faces 10 counts of possession of firearms without a state gun-owner identification card.
It was his third arrest in 18 months. Johnson has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Earlier this month, a judge in Lake County, where his home is located, granted a defense request to allow Johnson to travel freely outside the state.
But Cook County prosecutors argued that Johnson's December arrest violated probation from a 2005 gun charge. A Cook County judge previously ordered Johnson to stay at home except to go to work, and he needed Moran's permission to leave Illinois for the Super Bowl.
Johnson's bodyguard, Willie B. Posey, was arrested on felony drug charges after the raid on Johnson's home; Posey was shot and killed two days later during an early morning fight while he and Johnson were at a nightclub in Chicago.
The Bears suspended Johnson for one game for being out at the club.
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