One of the stars of New York Giants' Super Bowl team was arrested and charged with gun possession and released after posting $100,000 bail. He was not required to enter a plea yesterday and is due back in court March 31.
Plaxico Burress allegedly carried a gun with him into a night club where he accidentally shot himself after drunkenly fumbling for the weapon in his pants. His teammate also allegedly was involved, hiding the weapon so that police couldn't find it.
Weaponscharges, especially firearm charges, are serious, and often athletes caught with weapons can make light of the situation. Burress allegedly laughed when he found out what the charges were. However, recent events in Los Angeles demonstrated the seriousness of weapons charges, firearms possession and the resulting consequences.
Three unrelated shootings involving officers occurred in Los Angeles County over the holiday weekend, leaving one man dead and another seriously injured. A man, identified by the Los Angeles County coroner's office as 18-year-old Salvador Zepeda Alarcon, was killed in the 800 block of Humphreys Avenue, near Folsom Street in East Los Angeles after L.A. County Sheriff's deputies responded to a report of shots fired, said Sheriff's Deputy Oscar Butao.
The officers were traveling west on Folsom Street when they saw the man running east. Deputies got out of their vehicle and ordered Alarcon to stop, Butao said, but he ignored their instructions, drew a handgunfrom his waistband and pointed it at the officers. The deputies fired several rounds at the man's chest. Alarcon was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police are also investigating a double shooting in South Los Angeles that left a man dead and a teenage girl wounded. The man, believed to be in his 30s, died Sunday night at a hospital, where the teenager was in stable condition. Investigators were trying to determine who fired multiple rounds at the pair in the 800 block of West 97th Street just after 9 p.m. Both victims were shot in the upper body. Ed Winter of the Los Angeles County coroner's office said the gunmen drove by and shot the man while he stood in a driveway. It was unclear where the girl was standing, police said.
California Gun Law
Gun/weapon charges are aggressively prosecuted in California. Most carry the prospect of jail time (or state prison), expensive fines, and a criminal record that may make it difficult to obtain employment and housing.
Stephen G. Rodriquez and his associates will focus on getting you the most favorable disposition using a variety of proven techniques and defenses.
