Former New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress pleaded guilty to attempted criminal weapons charges on Thursday. He agreed to a plea deal that carries a sentence of two years in prison followed by two years of supervised release. Last November, Burress and former teammate Antonio Pierce were in a crowded night club when a gun slipped from Burress' waistband and fired a shot into his right thigh. No one else was injured in the incident.
Burress was not licensed to carry a firearm in the state of New York or in New Jersey, where he resides. He did have a license to carry a gun in the state of Florida, but that permit expired in May of 2008. Burress' official plea was made in the Manhattan State Supreme court to a charge of one count of attempted criminal possession of a weapon. He was indicted earlier this month by a Grand Jury on two counts of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of reckless endangerment. Those charges carried a minimum sentence of 3 1/2 years.
The 31 year-old wide receiver was released in April by the New York Giants. It has been quite a turn of events for Burress who caught the winning touchdown in Super Bowl XLII. That touchdown catch gave the Giants one of the biggest upsets in sports history as they beat the New England Patriots who were the first team to win every game in a 16 game regular season.
With time off for good behavior, Burress could be released after serving 20 months. His sentencing date is set for September 22.
photo credit: AP Photo/Mary Altaffer
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