Sports / Basketball
Artest charged with 4 misdemeanors
(AP)
Updated: 2007-03-22 09:53
Sacramento Kings forward Ron Artest faces four misdemeanor charges
stemming from a dispute with his wife at home earlier this month.
The charges were filed late Tuesday. Placer County Deputy District
Attorney Dan Quick said Artest will be arraigned Thursday on charges of
battery and corporal injury to a spouse, false imprisonment and
dissuading a witness from reporting a crime. Each carries a maximum
sentence of one year in prison.
Artest was arrested March 5 at his estate in Loomis, 25 miles northeast
of Sacramento, and was released from custody after posting a $50,000 bond.
A Placer County sheriff's report said Artest grabbed a woman and pushed
her down, then slapped her face during an argument. The report, which did
not identify the victim because it was a domestic violence incident, said
Artest took a phone from the woman the first time she tried to call 911.
When she reached 911, the woman at first complained that Artest was
taking the family Hummer from the home, according to a recording of the
call released by the sheriff's department. The woman then told a
dispatcher that her finger was cut and her leg scratched, and that she
broke the windshield of the vehicle.
Five days after his arrest, Artest said he'd stumbled as a father and
husband and apologized to his wife and family, as well as to the Kings
and his teammates. He sat out two games, but was not suspended and
continued to receive his salary.
Artest's attorney, William Portanova, said Wednesday that he had not yet
seen the charges.
"Ron's first priority remains his family, and the process will simply
have to work itself through," he said.
Portanova declined to say whether Artest has had any contact with his
family since the incident.
"The family continues to request privacy during these difficult times,"
he said.
Immediately after the arrest, the county sheriff's department obtained an
emergency protective order that prevented Artest from returning to his
home or contacting the woman until she could obtain a restraining order.
Officials with the Placer County clerk's office and sheriff's department
said Wednesday they had no record that she had sought or obtained such an
order.
Calls Wednesday to Artest's agent, Mark Stevens, were not immediately
returned. Kings spokesman Darrin May said he had no immediate comment.
It was the latest in a string of incidents that have marred Artest's
basketball career.
As a member of the Indiana Pacers, he was the central figure in the 2004
brawl with Detroit Pistons fans. He received a 73-game suspension and
lost almost $5 million in salary for jumping into the stands and throwing
punches. Artest and teammate Stephen Jackson were sentenced to one year
of probation and 60 hours of community service after pleading no contest
to misdemeanor assault charges.
Artest joined the Kings in January 2006.
Sheriff's deputies said they have responded to 911 calls from Artest's
home five other times since last August, and at least two of the calls
involved domestic disturbances.
Last month, county animal-control officers seized his Great Dane, Socks,
because it wasn't being fed. The dog has since been released to the
custody of one of Artest's lawyers.
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