Washington DC native Delonte West, guard for the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, pled guilty recently to weapons charges stemming from his arrest in Prince George's County Maryland. West's guilty plea came as part of a plea agreement that would allow him to play during the upcoming NBA season. Under the terms of the plea bargain, the NBA player will serve eight months of home detention, two months of supervised probation, forty hours of community service, and two years of unsupervised probation. Additionally, Delonte West is required to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet and to undergo counseling and alcohol treatment.

The weapons charges came after West was arrested in September for cutting off a police officer while changing lanes. The basketball player, who was driving a three-wheeled motorcycle called a Can-Am Spyder, was found to be carrying a Beretta 9mm handgun in his waistband, a Ruger .357 magnum strapped to his leg, and a shotgun in a guitar case strapped to his back. All three guns were loaded. West was also carrying an eight-inch Bowie knife and 100 shotgun shells. According to West's Prince George's County criminal lawyer, the NBA player was transporting the weapons from his mother's house to his own home in Fort Washington.

Originally charged with six weapons offenses, West pled guilty to carrying a dangerous weapon for his possession of the Bowie knife and to illegally transporting a handgun.
As part of his community service, Delonte West plans to speak with at-risk youth in Washington DC. Of his public service, West says, "If I never dribble a basketball again, I think I found my calling."

This article is presented by Price Benowitz, LLP, a criminal and DUI defense firm serving Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia. For more information, please visit our Maryland DUI Lawyer or DC Criminal Defense Lawyer websites.

According to police, a man has confessed to the murder of Maryland artist Azin Naimi. Raymond Williams is being held without bail at the Montgomery County Detention Center after he confessed to killing the woman at an art studio where they both worked and dumping her body in a Washington DC alley. Williams is charged with first degree murder in the killing. It is not yet known if he has retained a Maryland criminal lawyer for his defense.

The art studio's surveillance video from July 18 shows Williams entering the building around 4:40 p.m. and Naimi arriving around 7:30. Later that evening, Williams departed in an SUV, but video does not show Naimi leaving the building. Prosecutors allege that between Naimi's arrival and Williams's departure, Williams used scissors to repeatedly stab the artist. He then attempted to clean and remove evidence from the scene and from the victim's body. Naimi's cell phone and traces of blood were found in the studio.

Early the next morning, Naimi's mother filed a missing person report when her daughter failed to return home or to answer the phone. Naimi's body was found in Washington DC several hours later, partially clothed with multiple stab wounds, broken ribs, and a black eye. Prosecutors call the murder a "heinous and violent act."

Williams admitted to killing Naimi in the studio, attempting to clear the scene of evidence, and transporting her body to DC.

The murder is Montgomery County's thirteenth homicide this year, already matching the total for 2009.

This article is presented by Price Benowitz, LLP, a criminal and DUI defense firm serving Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia. For more information, please visit our DC Federal Criminal Lawyer or Virginia Criminal Attorney websites.

A Maryland grand jury indicted a 15-year police veteran on charges of first degree murder and related handgun charges after a shooting outside a nightclub in June.

According to authorities, an off-duty police officer, Gahiji A. Tshamba, 36, used his service weapon to shoot Tyrone Brown, 32, multiple times at close range, killing the former Marine. According to witnesses, the shooting occurred as an over-reaction to Brown's groping of a female companion of Tshamba outside a Maryland nightclub.

Tshamba's Maryland criminal lawyer said that his client proclaims his innocence and that he is "eager" for his chance to prove his innocence at trial. He argues that, though off-duty, Tshamba put himself on duty when he witnessed a sexual assault, and that he fired the fatal shots when he became fearful for his own safety.

If convicted, the police officer faces a possible sentence of life in prison without parole for the first degree murder charge. The charge of using a handgun to commit a felony and crime of violence carries the possibility of an additional 20 years.

Tshamba was intended to be a key witness in an armed robbery case and a first degree assault case scheduled for September. Prosecutors now say that they will have to see if those trials can proceed without Tshamba's testimony. If not, those cases will likely be dismissed. The Maryland criminal attorneys for the defendants in those two cases did not comment publicly on Tshamba's indictment or the possibility of their clients' case dismissals.

This article is presented by Price Benowitz, LLP, a criminal defense firm serving Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia. For more information, please visit our DC Criminal Defense Lawyer website.

A Maryland State Trooper who is a 13-year veteran of the state police force has recently been charged with multiple counts of possession and distribution of child pornography. The incidents leading to the charges against Bruce Allen Tucker, 47, took place over a period of several months. The investigation into Tucker's acts began in March, and police discovered that his computer held more than 3,000 images of nude children and children engaged in sex acts. Tucker is accused of both receiving and exchanging child pornography via the computer. According to investigators, all exchanges of obscene material occurred while Tucker was off-duty. The trooper was arrested on July 16 and released on $50,000 bail. It is not clear whether or not Tucker has retained a Maryland criminal attorney to defend him against the charges.

Prior to his arrest, the trooper was serving in the Criminal Investigations Bureau of the state police force. Earlier in his career, Tucker spent eight years working in the Maryland State Police force's executive protection unit, which protects Maryland's governor and lieutenant governor. Tucker was a member of the executive protection unit during the administrations of Governor Robert Ehrlich and Governor Martin O'Malley.

According to spokeswoman Elena Russo, the Maryland State Police has suspended Tucker without pay as a result of his arrest and child pornography charges.

This article is presented by Price Benowitz, LLP, a criminal and DUI defense firm serving Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia. For more information, please visit our Maryland DUI Lawyer or DC Criminal Defense Lawyer websites.