Cleveland Cavaliers - Delonte West pleads guilty
Delonte West, a well renowned basketball player from Cleveland Cavaliers, pleaded guilty on July 16th 2010 for the possession of two weapons. He was sentenced by Prince George’s County judge; he is ordered to stay under house arrest for eight months, with two months of probation and forty hours of community service.
Delonte West will be allowed to play the next NBA season which was part of the plea bargain, which begins 26th July.
West was charged of carrying six different weapons and two traffic violations, which included an eight inch bowie knife, two handguns and shot gun with more than 100 rounds which he was illegally transporting according to the court.
Delonte’s attorney C. Todd M. Steuart said that West was carrying the weapons from his mother’s house, which is in Brandywine, to his house which is located in Ford Washington, although he was stopped by Prince George’s police officer on Capital Beltway which is a few hundred miles away from his home.
West stated at the Circuit Court that he was extremely remorseful regarding the incident and wanted to apologize for his indiscretion. He insisted to Judge Graydon S. McKee III that he was sorry to him and the professionals which were present at the court, as he himself often speaks to the troubled youth of Washington by relating to them.
Delonte West said “If I never dribble a basketball again, I think I found my calling”.
After hearing him out, Glen F.Ivey who is the State’s Attorney said that West will only be allowed to travel for the Cleveland Cavaliers as that is his job. Ivey also concluded later that he would be allowed to go for home games, away games and attend practices.
Glen F.Ivey said that, people convicted in Prince George for carrying unauthorized weapons are normally sentenced to jail, even if they have no prior convictions and it should be made sure that West is treated no different than people who faced similar circumstances.
Reporters said that the Judge has ordered Delonte to wear an electronic bracelet. He also has to undergo alcohol screening and counselling, and his probation will be unsupervised for two years. Officials still do not know if he will be allowed to take the bracelet off during games.
Delonte pleaded guilty in connection with an with an incident which took place last year when he was driving a motorcycle on Betlway, Authorities reported that West had avoided a county officer when he tried pulling him over.
As the officer approached his car, Delonte told him he was carrying a gun in his waistband. At that moment the officer called for backup. When West’s car was searched, three guns were found, a 12-guage shotgun which was hidden inside a guitar case, a 9mm Beretta which was in West’s waistband and a Ruger .375 Magnum; Investigators also found shotgun shells in one of his backpacks.
After his arrest, Dmitri West who is West’s father was questioned by many reporters who asked him why West was so heavily armed. Dmitri said his son was “looking behind his back and protecting himself”.
Delonte West is a shooting guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers; he weighs 180 pounds and stands at 6feet 3inches. He graduated from Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Maryland where he excelled at basketball. He averaged 22 points with 8 rebounds per game. He later joined the Saint Joseph’s University where he helped his college team alleviate by scoring double figures in almost all games. West was drafted by the Boston Celtics in the 2004 NBA draft season as the 24th pick overall. He was later traded to the Seattle SuperSonics for Ray Allen who also traded him to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2008.
West got married last year and purchased a $1M house in Fort Washington.
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