Jayson Williams Pleads Guilty to Lesser Charge In Shooting Death

Sports News - January 11th, 2010 - Written By Bryan

Stemming from a 2002 shooting in which his limousine driver, Costas Christofi, was shot and killed, former NBA player Jayson Williams pleaded guilty to aggravated assault this week. Sentenced to at least 18 months in prison, the plea and sentencing puts a close to a case that was nearly eight years in development.

Williams had originally been charged with reckless manslaughter, but reached an agreement in which he plead guilty to the lesser charge of aggravated assault with a weapon.

During his trial in 2004, witnesses stated that Williams was showing a shotgun off while in his bedroom at his home, when he snapped it, and the gun accidentally went off, killing Christofi. He was found innocent of aggravated manslaughter, but was convicted of trying to cover up the scene. Williams' defense attorneys argued that it was an accident, and he panicked.

The jury presiding over the trial could not reach a decision on the reckless manslaughter charge, and a re-trial was slated to begin this week.

Because a gun was involved, an aggravated assault carries a minimum sentence of 18 month compared to the reckless manslaughter charge that carried a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Williams paid over $2 million to Christofi's family in a wrongful death suit that was filed against him back in 2003, but that was just the beginning of Williams' troubles.

Williams had a nine-year NBA career in which he was a member of the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Nets. Williams was forced out of the game due to injury in just his second season with the Nets, a deal worth $86 million.

Williams then became an NBA Basketball analyst with NBC, but was suspended from his position following the shooting.

In an isolated incident last week, Williams was charged with DUI, as his SUV struck a tree while in New York. Authorities found Williams at the scene in the passenger seat of the vehicle but witnesses claim Williams moved from the drivers' seat.

The DUI charge is the latest in a string of personal issues Williams has been dealing with since the 2002 shooting. The separation between him and his wife last year, followed by an incident in which police used a stun gun on him in a hotel room after a friend of his called and said he seemed suicidal portrays a string of issues.

Exactly how long Williams will spend in prison as well as the charges that will come from the alleged DUI have yet to be determined.