Baxter planning to plead guilty

The Baltimore Sun

Lonny Baxter, a former Maryland men's basketball standout who admitted last year to shooting a gun near the White House, plans to plead guilty next week to a related federal firearms violation, his attorney confirmed yesterday.

Baxter, who was released from jail in October and has been playing for Montepaschi Siena in Italy's first division, was charged yesterday in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt with failing to disclose weapons he shipped by express mail from Texas to College Park. His lawyer, Richard A. Finci, said Baxter would plead guilty next Thursday.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, but Finci said he did not expect time behind bars for the 28-year-old Rockville resident. The recommended federal guidelines call for a sentence between probation and seven months in prison, depending on criminal history, Finci said.

Federal prosecutors in Maryland say that last July, Baxter sent two .40-caliber Glocks, a Para-Ordnance .45-caliber pistol and a Bushmaster M4 .223-caliber rifle from Texas to Maryland without notifying Federal Express what was being sent.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Maryland said prosecutors did not charge Baxter with possessing the guns illegally.

According to his attorney, Baxter was unaware he had to declare the weapons, which were shipped as part of a move.

Baxter later used one of the .40-caliber handguns that was registered to him in Texas in the Aug. 16 shooting near the White House.

In that case, he was driving a sport utility vehicle when he fired into the air.

He pleaded guilty in Washington to a felony charge of carrying a weapon without a license and misdemeanor charges of possession of an unregistered firearm and ammunition.

Associate Judge Craig Iscoe sentenced Baxter to 270 days, with all but 60 suspended. Baxter also was placed on 18 months of probation and ordered to pay a $2,500 fine and serve 200 hours of community service.

"He is working for Peaceaholics, in Southeast Washington," Finci said of Baxter's community service. "His role is to speak to kids and try to teach them skills to avoid violence."

In the Maryland case filed yesterday, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents in Washington traced the gun used in the case back to Texas, where they gathered more evidence about how the weapon moved to the Washington area, according agency spokesman Mike Campbell.

The weapons have been turned over to federal authorities because, as a felon, Baxter is no longer allowed to possess them, Campbell said.

Baxter starred for Maryland when the team made the Final Four in 2001 and won the national championship in 2002. He was drafted by the Chicago Bulls, one of six NBA teams he played for before going to Europe. He had a 12-game stint with the Washington Wizards during the 2003-04 season.

His Italian team won the division championship this season. Finci said he was unsure whether Baxter planned to return to Europe, but added that Baxter expected to continue playing basketball professionally.

matthew.dolan@baltsun.com

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