Jayson Williams gets five years in prison

Former New Jersey Nets basketball star Jayson Williams was sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday for the fatal shooting of his limo driver Costas "Gus" Christofi in 2002.
"There's not a day I wake up and I don't feel sorry for what I did to Mr. Christofi," Williams offered as an apology.
He pleaded guilty last month to aggravated assault in the shooting death of Christofi.  Under his plea deal, Williams could have been sentenced to anywhere from 18 months without the possibility of parole to five years in prison; the judge imposed the maximum sentence at the behest of prosecutors.


Williams waived his right to appeal in return for the state changing the indictment from a charge of reckless manslaughter to a charge of aggravated assault by recklessly causing bodily injury to another with a deadly weapon.  Williams celebrated his 42nd birthday Monday.

Source

J-Boog from B2K Arrested for Bump,Bump,Bumping his wife

Jarell Damonte Houston, Marques Houston's cousin, was arrested Monday afternoon for "corporal punishment on a spouse" as well as for outstanding warrants relating to an allegedly bad driving record. Neighbors say they heard screaming from the house, and when the police were called, they arrived to the residence 6 or 7 squad cars deep. J-Boog isn't known to be seeing anyone besides the mother of his child, so we assume this is the women in question. With Teddy Riley, Charlie Sheen, Murry J. smackin' Kendu upside the head in a club and now J-Boog, 2010 looks like a bad year rising for homestic violence...


In other news, former NBA player Jayson Williams struck a tree with his Benz-SUV this morning at 3:15 AM after veering off an exit, suffering minor injuries. Police said he may have been drinking before the crash. Williams was in the passenger seat when officers arrived and told them "Happy New Years,ociffers, my driver is looking for a pay phone to call AAA." and someone else had been driving. But witnesses (who happen to be up at 3:15AM) told police they saw him in the driver's seat, and officers said no one else was in the car. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital presumedly to be checked into its K-Ward.

Ex-NBA Star Jayson Williams Cops A Plea

Retired NBA star Jayson Williams has cut a plea deal that would send him to prison for up to three years for accidentally shooting a driver at his New Jersey estate in 2002, a person with knowledge of the case told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Williams, who retired in 2000 after playing nine seasons in the NBA for the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets, was to face a retrial in January on a reckless manslaughter count.

The person, who not authorized to speak about the case, told the AP on condition of anonymity that Williams is to plead guilty to aggravated assault on Friday. Because a gun was used in the crime, Williams must serve at least 18 months in prison, the person said.

The plea deal would resolve all charges in the case that dragged out for nearly eight years.

Witnesses testified that while showing off a shotgun in his bedroom, Williams snapped the weapon shut and it fired one shot that struck driver Costas Christofi in the chest, killing him. They also testified that Williams initially placed the gun in the dead man's hands and instructed those present in the bedroom to lie about what happened. Williams has since settled with the Christofi family in the civil lawsuit associated with the case.

The defense has maintained the shooting was an accident and that Williams panicked afterward.

Source: AP

Assault Charge Against Jayson Williams Dismissed

An assault charge against former NBA star Jayson Williams stemming from a fight outside a North Carolina nightclub has been dismissed.

Multiple media outlets reported Wednesday that Wake County Assistant District Attorney Phillip Cowan dismissed the charge at the request of Ahmad Sulimon Nazari of Cary (after a new Land Rover was parked in his driveway over the weekend).

Authorities said Williams punched Nazari in the face outside a Raleigh nightclub in May. Williams was expected in court next week to answer to the misdemeanor charge.

Nazari was not immediately available for comment Wednesday night. His attorney did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.

Williams, who played nine seasons, also faces a retrial on a reckless manslaughter charge in the shooting death of his driver, Costas "Gus" Christofi, at his New Jersey mansion. He has been free on bail since the 2002 shooting.

Jayson Williams to remain free on bond

A New Jersey judge rejected a request by prosecutors to revoke Jayson Williams' bond and sentence him immediately in the case stemming from the death of his his limo driver in 2002. Prosecutors cited his increasingly erratic and possibly dangerous behavior including an alleged suicide attempt an altercation in New York city where he had to be subdued with a stun gun and an assault charge in North Carolina. The judge declined the request in light of Williams retrial on a wreckless manslaughter charge scheduled to begin in January 2010.