Felton agrees to plea deal, won't serve prison time
Raymond Felton was arrested on gun charges on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Knicks point guard Raymond Felton has agreed to plead guilty to a reduced weapons charge and will avoid jail time, lawyers on both sides said in court Monday.
As Felton stood before judge Lisa Sokoloff in a second-floor courtroom in downtown Manhattan just past 10 a.m., Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Rebold read off the details of their agreement: 500 hours of community service and a $5,000 fine.
Felton had been facing two felony gun possession charges stemming from an early morning arrest Feb. 25 that carried a maximum sentence of seven years if convicted.
Instead, Felton agreed to plead guilty to the lowest level felony weapons charge: attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree. He will have to register as a gun offender.
Felton, who did not speak during the hearing, is expected to enter the plea at an upcoming hearing. After leaving court, Felton did not take questions, saying only that he thanked his friends and family "just for supporting me and understanding the person I am."
Felton's lawyer, Jim Walden, thanked the Manhattan district attorney "for focusing on the facts, and only the facts."
Felton turned himself in to the NYPD just past midnight on Feb. 25 -- not long after a Knicks game at the Garden -- after an unidentified complainant brought a loaded, high-powered semiautomatic handgun to police, according to court papers.
Law enforcement sources have said the complainant was Felton's estranged wife, Ariane Raymondo-Felton, and they said she reported that Felton carried the gun during a domestic argument. "The proof in this matter is crystal clear: Ray never threatened anyone with this or any weapon, period," Walden said in a statement. "It didn't happen."
The attorney for Raymondo-Felton did not return a message seeking comment.
Felton recently finished the second year of a three-year, $10-million contract with the Knicks. It was a disappointing season for Felton on the court. He was slowed by a hamstring injury early, mentioned in reports of trade talks at the deadline and also faced lingering questions about his conditioning.
