By Stephen D. Riley
Special to the AFRO
Former Giants star Plaxico Burress was sentenced to two years in jail after pleading guilty to a weapons charge. (Courtesy Photo/NFL)
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(August 20, 2009) - Former New York Giants receiver Plaxico Burress is headed upstate, but not to play for the Giants again. Instead, he’s headed to prison after pleading guilty to a weapons charge Aug. 20.
Burress, who accidentally shot himself in a Manhattan nightclub last November, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted criminal possession of a weapon, a lesser charge than he initially faced. Under a plea agreement, he agreed to a two-year prison sentence and two years of supervised release.
Ironically, Burress had a deal on the table before his trial to complete a three-month prison sentence with the confession of a guilty plea, according to New Jersey’s Star-Ledger newspaper.
Bob Papa, the Giants’ radio play-by-play announcer and the voice of NFL Network's live games, also reported on a May 28 Sirius NFL Radio program that, "They worked out something where they had it down to about a three-month jail term with actually only two months served and about 1,500 hours of community service. And I think his lawyers felt that they had a pretty good deal. He doesn't want to go to jail at all. He shot down the deal - just like he shot down the new contract the Giants offered him to try to get his money back. He does not want to go to jail at all.”
Burress was indicted earlier this month on two counts of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of reckless endangerment. He faced a minimum sentence of three and a half years years if convicted at trial.
Burress' sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 22.