The New York Daily News said New York Knicks point guard Raymond Felton will be appearing in a criminal court on Tuesday after he surrendered to police earlier in the morning over gun possession charges.
The news daily quoted unnamed sources, who said that Felton was arrested on three counts of possessing a weapon after the lawyer of his estranged wife gave his gun to cops. A spokesperson of the New York Police Department confirmed the criminal charges filed against the hoop star, which are second- and third-degree criminal possession of a firearm and fourth-degree possession charge, which is a lighter violation.
Just hours after Felton's Knicks lost a basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks, the 29 year-old reportedly turned himself in for questioning at Manhattan;s 20th precinct. New York Daily News quoted sources who said the Knicks guard decided to turn himself in after a legal representative of his wife, Ariane Raymondo-Felton, brought a Belgian pistol. The Fordham University School of Law recently filed for divorce from Felton after 19 months of marriage, and based from a police source, decided to turn over the gun as she was not comfortable about it being kept at home.
The source added, "She had knowledge that the gun was there. She said she didn't want the gun there anymore."
The news daily said Felton will be subjected to the penalties of the strict gun possession laws of New York. Citing an example, New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress received a two-year sentence as part of a plea deal on a firearm-related charge following a shooting incident in a Manhattan nightclub. Burress, accidentally shot himself in his thigh when his gun went off, New York Daily News said.
Despite a stellar last season for the Knicks, pundits believed that Jason Kidd, not the entry of the already out-of-shape Felton, was the main reason why the basketball team had played better as a basketball team, the news daily said.
