Ex-NBA player Sebastian Telfair has a meltdown in court after he’s sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison on gun charges
- Sebastian Telfair, 34, started shouting and crying in a Brooklyn courtroom on Monday after the judge handed down his years-long prison sentence
- He said, ‘Please don’t take me from society right now,’ and told the court he is being convicted of a victimless crime
- Officers pulled over Telfair in the early morning on June 11, 2017 after they said Telfair failed to turn his headlights on
- They arrested Telfair and his passenger after smelling weed in their pickup truck
- The officers searched the vehicle and found three loaded handguns, a submachine gun, extended magazines, ammunition and a ballistic vest
- Telfair said he had a Florida license to carry the guns, but didn’t have a license too carry them in New York
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A former NBA player had an emotional meltdown in a Brooklyn, New York courtroom on Monday after a judge sentenced him to more than three years in prison on gun possession charges.
Retired NBA point guard Sebastian Telfair, 34, started shouting and crying once the verdict was announced.
‘Please don’t take me from society right now,’ Telfair said, according to the New York Post. ‘I am 34. I can go play in China for six years and take care of my family. I’m waiting for my daughter right now to get her period. Real mental illness because I wasn’t around… She hasn’t even gotten her period yet.’
Telfair also told the court that he’s being convicted of a ‘victimless crime’.
Retired NBA point guard Sebastian Telfair, 34 had an emotional meltdown in a Brooklyn, New York courtroom on Monday after a judge sentenced him to three years in prison on gun possession charges
He said: ‘Please don’t take me from society right now,’ and told the court he is being convicted of a ‘victimless crime’
Telfair had a major outburst in Brooklyn Supreme Court. He played for nine NBA teams and three teams in China over the course of his 13 year pro-basketball career
Telfair holds his head amid his outburst during sentencing in Brooklyn Supreme court Monday
‘Put a gun in his hand and fight for us n—- … I go to the gun store. I got an American Express,’ he added.
The journeyman athlete played for nine NBA teams and three teams in China over the course of his 13 year pro-basketball career.
He was driving a Ford F-150 with a friend around 2.50am on June 11, 2017 when police said they pulled over the duo because their truck’s headlights weren’t on.
The officers said they smelled burning marijuana inside the car, prompting them to order the passengers out and arrest them before searching the vehicle.
The officers searched the vehicle and found three loaded handguns, a submachine gun, extended magazines, ammunition and a ballistic vest
Telfair begged the judge not to let him go to prison ,telling her, ‘You’re the only one that can help me’
During the hearing he accused the friend who was with him in the car that night of lying about the marijuana police found in the vehicle
Telfair said he had a Florida concealed carry license for the weapons, but didn’t have a license to carry the guns in New York
Inside, the officers found three loaded handguns, a gas-powered submachine gun, extended magazines, ammunition and a ballistic vest.
Telfair said he had a Florida concealed carry license for the weapons, but he did not have a license to carry the guns in New York.
He said that he didn’t know the guns were in the car because he was going through a divorce at the time and paid movers to put some of his belongings in his truck and transport them up from Florida to New York for him, before he arrived back.
Telfair questioned whether officers lied about smelling marijuana in his truck. He said the drugs weren’t his and also accused his friend of lying about them.
Telfair (center, and right) played 10 NBA seasons with nine different teams. He also played three seasons for pro basketball teams in China
An internal affairs investigation determined the officers who arrested Telfair were telling the truth about the weed, which gave them probable cause to search Telfair’s vehicle.
Telfair played 10 NBA seasons with nine different teams from 2004 to 2013, including the Boston Celtics, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Toronto Raptors.
The hometown hero originally from Brooklyn made his NBA dreams come true in 2004 when the Portland Trailblazers selected him with their 13th overall pick in the first round of that year’s NBA draft.
Telfair has also played three seasons for pro basketball teams in China.