Aug 20, 2009 11:57 pm US/Eastern
Burress Pleads Guilty, Receives 2-Year Sentence
Former Giants Wide Receiver Pleads Guilty To Lesser Charges, Could Be Out In 20 Months With Good Behavior
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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New York Giants football player Plaxico Burress enters Manhattan Criminal Court March 31, 2009 in New York.
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From Super Bowl hero to prison: former Giants star Plaxico Burress struck a surprising deal with prosecutors Thursday morning, pleading guilty to a weapons charge for accidentally shooting himself at a Manhattan nighclub.
Burress said nothing after agreeing to the deal that stunned many: two years in prison and two years supervised release.
"Plaxico Buress has accepted responsibility. He's done it like a man. He understands he violated the law," his attorney Benjamin Brafman said.
It was last November at a midtown nightclub where Burress came in with a loaded, 40-caliber pistol tucked into the waistband of his jeans. The gun slipped, went off, and hit him in the leg, then narrowly missed a security guard.
Burress had a licence to carry a gun in Florida, not New York, and it had expired nearly seven months before the shooting. He faced a possible 3 and 1/2 to 15 years behind bars, but pleaded to the lesser of two charges – attempted weapons possession – deciding to cut his losses.
"There's no way out in this case, unfortunately, other than a plea," said Brafman. "After an agonizing period of discussion, Plaxico decided that he wanted to do this, put this behind him as quickly as possible."
Burress, who caught the winning pass in the Giants Super Bowl win over the Patriots in 2008, was cut from the Giants in April.
"This was not an intentional criminal act," Brafman added. "In my judgment, a two-year prison sentence is a very severe punishment."
Mayor Bloomberg, who had been outspoken in wanting prison time for Burress, said little about Burress getting less than expected.
"You'll have to ask [District Attorney Robert Morgenthau] if he would have made the same deal with anybody. That's up to him," he said.
Morgenthau did not comment on the plea.
With time off for good behavior, the sentence could be reduced to 20 months. Formal sentencing will take place a month from now.
The 32-year-old Burress is married with one child, and his wife is expecting another. Brafman said Burress hopes to resume his football career after prison.
Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce, who was with Burress the night of the shooting, driving him to the hospital and taking the gun back to Burress' home, was not charged in the incident.
"He is a friend of mine, a great teammate. We won a championship with him. I am saddened by the news -- two years," quarterback Eli Manning said. "Again, I just wish the best for him and his family and try to support him any way we can."
Pro Bowl defensive end Justin Tuck said his heart sank when he learned of the plea.
"Today when I heard the news, my heart went out to him and his family, and obviously I'm just hoping that everything turns out all right in the end," Tuck said.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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