Plaxico Burress Indicted On Weapons Charges

NFL News - August 3rd, 2009 - Written by Ryan Smith

Former New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress was indicted by a grand jury today on weapons charges. Burress is dealing with the aftermath of accidentally shooting himself in the thigh last November at the Latin Quarter nightclub in Manhattan. Today's indictment charged Burress with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of reckless endangerment. If Burress is convicted he could face up to three and a half years in prison. He has already pled not guilty to the weapons charges and is free on $100,000 bail. Last Wednesday Burress spoke to the grand jury for over two and half hours which marked the first time that he has publicly spoken about the incident.

The gun that Burress shot himself with was not licensed and nobody called the police to report his gunshot wound which is required by law. The former teammate of Burress, Antonio Pierce, was with him when the incident occurred. Pierce reportedly drove Burress to the hospital and then took the gun to Burress' home in New Jersey. Pierce also spoke in front of the grand jury last week and there was a possibility that he also could be indicted. Luckily for Pierce the grand jury decided not to indict him for his role in the incident. Pierce is a still a member of the New York Giants and today's decision was a big relief for the entire team as he is one of their best defensive players. Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said that Burress was not the only one to show bad judgement in this case but the other peoples actions did not warrant prosecution.

Plaxico Burress is not far removed from being haled a Super Bowl hero. In one of the most dramatic Super Bowl's in history, Burress caught the game winning touchdown pass to lead the Giants over the Patriots in the 2008 Super Bowl. He was the Giants most explosive play maker for the last few seasons. Even before this incident occurred, Burress was already causing problems behind the scenes for the Giants. This past April the Giants decided they have had enough with Burress and they released him. Burress has still not signed with any NFL team. Even after his legal troubles are over, he will still face likely disciplinary actions from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

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