Lonny Baxter, the former Maryland and NBA player convicted of involvement in a nonfatal shooting near the White House, admitted yesterday that he illegally shipped a gun used in that crime from Texas to Maryland.
Baxter is scheduled to return Aug. 31 to U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, where he faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
His attorney has said that a likely sentence based on federal recommended guidelines would be between probation and seven months behind bars.
As a result of his guilty plea, Baxter will not be permitted to own, possess or use a firearm and forfeited his weapons.
Prosecutors wrote in court papers filed yesterday that Baxter used his friends to buy handguns and other weapons in Texas. They shipped the guns to another friend in College Park at Baxter's request. The basketball player later picked up the weapons in Maryland, according to authorities.
The 28-year-old Rockville resident pleaded guilty in Washington last year to carrying a weapon without a license and possessing an unregistered firearm. He was sentenced to 270 days, with all but 60 suspended.
Baxter has played for several teams in the NBA, but most recently he played professionally in Italy.