Burress indicted in weapons case

NEW YORK - Former New York Giants star Plaxico Burress was indicted by a grand jury on weapons charges for shooting himself in the thigh at a Manhattan nightclub and faces a minimum prison sentence of 3½ years if convicted, prosecutors announced yesterday.

The indictment charged Burress, a 31-year-old Norfolk native, with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of reckless endangerment, Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said.

"The grand jury applied the law to the facts of this case," Morgenthau said. He said the accidental shooting at the Latin Quarter nightclub on Nov. 29 was treated "like any similar case against any other defendant."

Burress' lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said he was disappointed but not surprised by the indictment, which came after Burress testified before the grand jury and expressed remorse.

"When you have the mayor and the district attorney both publicly demanding a maximum prison sentence, it was perhaps too much to hope for the grand jury to conduct a sympathetic review of the unique facts of this sad case," Brafman said.

Burress' former teammate Antonio Pierce, who was with Burress in the club and drove him to the hospital, was not indicted.

The panel also did not indict the nightclub security guard who carried the gun to Pierce's car or the hospital staff members who failed to notify police that Burress had been shot.

Morgenthau said hospital personnel were guilty of "a screw-up rather than a cover-up" and the security guard exhibited "bad judgment in the first degree" but did not commit a crime.

Giants President John Mara said the team was pleased Pierce, a star linebacker, was not indicted. "We said last week we felt strongly that Antonio's actions did not warrant criminal charges,"

Burress was at the Latin Quarter nightclub Nov. 29 when a gun tucked into his waistband slipped down his leg and fired, shooting him in the right thigh.

Prosecutors said yesterday that after taking Burress to the hospital, Pierce drove the gun to his own home in New Jersey - not to Burress' home, as was originally reported. They said he later arranged for it to be taken to Burress' home.

Assistant District Attorney John Wolfstaetter said the bullet that hit Burress narrowly missed a nightclub security guard who was standing inches away.

The bullet lodged in the floor and was recovered by a bartender, Morgenthau said.

Burress pleaded not guilty to weapons charges earlier this year and is free on $100,000 bail.

Burress, who caught the winning touchdown for the Giants over the New England Patriots in the final minute of the 2008 Super Bowl, also could face disciplinary action by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Goodell's office announced in June that the league already had started its examination of the shooting, and NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said yesterday's indictment "will be considered as part of that review."

The Giants released Burress in April, and he has yet to sign with another team.