Former Laker Wanted For Killing Mother Of 4 In Atlanta
ATLANTA (AP) — Former NBA player Javaris Crittenton, who briefly played for the LA Lakers, is wanted for a murder in Atlanta, according to authorities.
Crittenton, who was once suspended by the league over guns in a team locker room, has been charged with murder after a woman was shot on an Atlanta street, police said late Friday.
Police have secured a murder warrant for the arrest of Crittenton, who played at Georgia Tech, in connection with the shooting death of 22-year-old Jullian Jones on Aug. 19, police spokesman Carlos Campos said.
Campos said Crittenton is not in custody and is wanted.
Jones, a mother of four, was walking with a group of people on the city's southwest side when a dark-colored SUV drove by and she was shot by someone inside the vehicle, police said.
Investigators say they don't believe the woman was the intended target. The motive appears to be retaliation for a robbery in April, in which Crittenton was a victim, Campos said in a statement late Friday.
The FBI is involved with the investigation, and Atlanta authorities are hoping Crittenton will turn himself in, Atlanta police Maj. Keith Meadows told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Meadows said Friday night that Crittenton is believed to be in the Los Angeles area.
Messages left for an agent who has represented Crittenton were not immediately returned Friday night.
Crittenton most recently played in the NBA with the Washington Wizards and was involved in a gun altercation with Gilbert Arenas.
He was given a 38-game suspension by the NBA after he and Arenas acknowledged bringing guns into the locker room following a dispute stemming from a card game on a team flight.
Crittenton pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge on Jan. 25, 2010 and received probation. He wasn't re-signed by the Wizards.
The Charlotte Bobcats signed Crittenton to a non-guaranteed contract before last season but he was waived Oct. 15.
Crittenton was the 19th overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2007. He played little with Los Angeles and was sent to Memphis in the Pau Gasol deal his rookie year. He was traded to Washington in December 2008.
Crittenton averaged 5.3 points and 1.8 assists in 113 NBA games.
He's currently listed on the roster of the Dakota Wizards, a team from Bismarck, N.D. in the NBA Development League.
(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
