Baxter Allegedly Paid for Guns in Houston

GREENBELT, Md. - WTOP is learning more about the plea deal for former University of Maryland basketball star Lonny Baxter.

As first reported by WTOP, Baxter will plead guilty to a federal gun charge.

The former NBA star and his friends visited a Houston gun store and purchased several guns, sources tell WTOP. The guns were purchased in the name of a friend who was also present, but Baxter allegedly paid for the guns.

Baxter, 28, then allegedly shipped four guns, in two separate packages to a woman in College Park, without notifying Federal Express. Baxter then kept all the guns, according to sources.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms learned about the shipment of guns, after tracing the Glock pistol Baxter shot into the air near the White House in mid-August 2006.

"Mr. Baxter has reached a plea agreement and will be entering a guilty plea on July 19," says Baxter's attorney Rick Finci.

While neither side will talk about the plea deal, Baxter faces a maximum of five years in prison. Sources on both sides say that it is likely the prosecution will not oppose the low end of the sentencing spectrum for felony conviction, which could mean probation.

According to charging documents, the guns included two .40 caliber pistols, a .45 caliber pistol and a Bushmaster .223 caliber rifle.

The Rockville native spent two months in prison for firing a gun into the air a few blocks from the White House in mid-August of 2006.

Finci says he'll argue that the two months Baxter served be applied in this case -- and that under sentencing guidelines he's optimistic Baxter "will not be sent back to jail."

Baxter apologized for the incident near the White House, calling the act "careless, stupid, selfish."

Baxter helped lead Maryland to the NCAA national title in 2002 and was selected in the second round of the NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls later that year. But he struggled as a professional, moving between several NBA teams before signing with the Italian team Montepaschi Siena last year.

His prison sentence forced Baxter to miss the start of the Italian season, but his team went on to win the Italian league championship earlier this year. Sources tell WTOP prosecutors waited until after Baxter's team won the championship before filing the charge.

Baxter is "disappointed the government felt they needed to prosecute him a second time," Finci said, but that federal prosecutors have been "fair" in negotiations over a plea agreement.

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