Opening statements Wednesday in trial of ex-Tech, NBA star Crittenton
Opening statements will begin Wednesday in the trial of former Georgia Tech and NBA standout Javaris Crittenton, accused of killing a mother of four.
Jury selection concluded Tuesday in the case against Crittenton, 27, and his cousin and co-defendant Douglas Gamble, 29. Crittenton and Gamble are accused of killing 23-year-old Julian Jones in August 2011, and wounding another man in separate shootings that investigators have said were gang-related retaliation.
Both men are charged with murder, felony murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and participation in criminal street gang activity. In April 2013, a grand jury indicted Crittenton and Gamble on murder charges.
Crittenton was later released from jail on bond, but re-arrested during a drug sting in January 2014. He remained Tuesday night in the Fulton County jail. Gamble is out on bond, booking records showed.
Crittenton, of Fayetteville, is a former AJC “Mr. Basketball” and high school star at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy who then played at Georgia Tech. He was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the 2007 NBA Draft and was traded his rookie year to the Memphis Grizzlies.
He was later traded to the Washington Wizards, where in December 2009, he and teammate Gilbert Arenas were involved in a locker room confrontation involving guns. He pleaded guilty and was given a year of probation on a misdemeanor gun possession charge and suspended from the league for the remainder of the season.
