Stephen Jackson, a NBA guard involved in a strip club brawl that ended with gunfire last October, will make a plea deal to avoid jail time.
The Indianapolis Star reported on Monday that Jackson, who was with the Indiana Pacers at the time of the October 6 melee but since traded to the Golden State Warriors, agreed to reduced charges to avoid spending any time behind bars.
Jackson will plead guilty in Marion Superior Court today to criminal recklessness, a felony, for firing his gun into the air before and after he was struck by a car outside Club Rio in a fight outside the night club, court documents said.
PHOTO: AP
Suspended sentence
Should a judge accept Jackson's plea, the NBA player would receive a one-year suspended sentence, pay a US$5,000 fine and serve 100 hours of community service with a neighborhood charity service group in Indianapolis.
Prosecutors also agreed to convert the felony to a misdemeanor conviction since it would have been the first felony conviction for Jackson, who had originally entered a not guilty plea.
Other misdemeanor charges of battery and disorderly conduct had also been originally filed against Jackson.
Their status was unclear.
The actions of Jackson and others were recorded by a video surveillance camera in the parking lot, where five shell casings from a 9mm handgun were recovered by police.
The assailant who struck Jackson with his car in the parking lot outside the club was sentenced in February to two years in prison, two years on probation and 100 hours of community service.
The guilty plea will almost certainly mean an NBA suspension for Jackson, whose troubles off and on the court contributed to him being traded to Golden State, which made the playoffs this season.
The Pacers missed the playoffs.
Brawl with spectators
Jackson, who took part in the Pacers' brawl with spectators at a game in Detroit in November 2004 and was suspended 30 games as a result, was on probation for a misdemeanor charge from that brawl at the time of the strip club incident.
Jackson and three Pacers teammates were arguing with another group of men in the club and Jackson was hit in the mouth in the parking lot.
Jackson was knocked onto the hood of a car and then began firing his gun.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS