Retired basketball player and former NBA star Jayson Williams has pleaded guilty in front of Court and took full responsibility for the accident that claimed the life of his limousine driver in 2002. Williams was charged with assault and agreed to serve at least 18 months in prison.
He was first charged with reckless manslaughter, an offense that would have landed him 10 years in jail, for which he pleaded not guilty. He pleaded guilty to the less severe assault count for the death of Costas Christofi.
With his personal life already rocky, Jayson Williams stated that it was his recklessness that killed his driver. He said that he did not look in the direction where the muzzle of the gun was pointed and this led him to accidentally claim the life of his driver. He has taken full responsibility for the tragedy.
Calm and collected during the entire procedure, Williams was also charged with drunken driving last week after running his SUV into a tree in New York. Several stitches oculd be seen in his right eye while he listened to all the charges against him.
The assault case carries a minimum of 18 months in federal prison because a gun was involved while the reckless manslaughter Williams was initially charged with could have given landed him in a federal prison for 10 years. Williams posted bail after he was charged with the assault.
Williams recounted that what happened almost eight years ago was a tragic accident. He was giving some of his friends a tour of his New Jersey home on February 14, 2002 and when they reached his bedroom, he started showing them his gun collection. He then admitted that he failed to check one barrel of a double-barreled 12-gauge shotgun that went off and eventually killed his driver. Williams maintained that what happened was purely an accident and that panic got to him after the incident. Years of legal proceedings followed until charges were finally placed last January 11, 2010.
Williams had a career spanning nine years in the NBA playing for the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Nets. He was forced to retire in 2000 due to injuries and has since then taken a downward spin in his personal life.