Former Georgia Tech basketball star Javaris Crittenton wasn't the trigger man in the shooting death of an Atlanta mother of four, his attorney said Friday.
"Mr. Crittenton uncategorically had nothing to do with the events of Aug. 19," attorney Brian Steel told reporters outside the Fulton County Courthouse.
Crittenton waived his first court appearance Friday. The former NBA player, accused of killing Julian Jones last month while trying to shoot another man, passed on the opportunity to appear before a judge.
Crittenton, who had been held more than two weeks in Los Angeles, returned to Atlanta on Thursday night to face charges that he shot and killed the mother of four.
"Thank you very much, judge," Steel told Fulton County Magistrate Judge Maureen Malone during the hearing.
Later, Steel proclaimed his client's innocence and said he was preparing for more pressing matters than Crittenton's first court appearance.
"The hearing today is irrelevant to us, and I am not belittling the court," he said. "It is unthinkable that an innocent man is in jail, and it forces him to fight for his life."
Both Jones' and Crittenton's mothers attended the hearing, although both declined to comment to reporters.
Jones' fiancee, Ha'Rel Butler, said he wasn't sure whether Crittenton was guilty. Butler said he was eager for the judicial system to take its course.
"I just say let the courts handle it," he said.
A bond hearing for Crittenton is scheduled for Sept. 30.
Crittenton arrived from Los Angeles, accompanied by officers of the Atlanta Police Department Fugitive Unit.
Crittenton is charged with homicide murder, felony murder and aggravated intent to murder.
The Fayetteville resident had been awaiting extradition since Aug. 30, when FBI agents and members of the Los Angeles Police Department joint fugitive task squad intercepted the former first-round draft pick after he had checked in to board a Delta Air Lines flight to Atlanta.
Steel said at the time he had arranged with police to have his client turn himself in to Atlanta police.
On the night of the shooting, Jones was walking with a group that included a male teenager who police say Crittenton believed had robbed him of a diamond watch, diamond necklace and an iPhone, valued at more than $55,000, in April.
Witnesses told police the shots were fired near Jones' Macon Drive home in southwest Atlanta from a black Chevrolet Tahoe linked to Crittenton.
Crittenton has had previous run-ins with the law, pleading guilty in January 2010 to a misdemeanor gun possession charge following a locker room altercation with teammate Gilbert Arenas. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard, out of the NBA since 2010, received a year of probation and was also suspended by the NBA for the rest of the 2010-11 season.
"This is crazy. Trouble continues to follow me for some reason," Crittenton tweeted on Aug. 26, apparently in response to the looming murder charge. His account has since been deleted.
-- Staff reporter Christian Boone contributed to this story.
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