National Basketball Association

Crittenton in Atlanta to face murder charge

Published Sep. 15, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Former Washington Wizards guard Javaris Crittenton has been returned to Atlanta to face a murder charge in the shooting death of a woman, police said.

Crittenton, who was suspended from the NBA along with his ex-teammate Gilbert Arenas for having guns in a locker room, arrived Thursday night from Los Angeles, Fulton County sheriff's office spokeswoman Tracy Flanagan said. He was being held at the county jail.

Crittenton was charged in the death of 22-year-old Julian Jones, a mother of four who was hit by gunfire during a drive-by shooting, police said. The shots apparently were aimed at someone walking with her, police said.

Crittenton, a former Georgia Tech star, has denied any involvement.

Crittenton was detained at a southern California airport two weeks ago when he was about to board a flight to Atlanta. He lives in the Atlanta suburb of Fayetteville.

Defense attorney Brian Steel said when Crittenton appeared in court in Los Angeles that his client had agreed to return to Atlanta voluntarily and had bought a plane ticket, but law enforcement authorities decided to arrest him anyway. Steel did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment Thursday night.

He pleaded guilty to a gun charge after a locker room altercation with Arenas last year and served a year of unsupervised probation.

Crittenton was the 19th overall pick of the 2007 NBA draft, selected by the Los Angeles Lakers. He is on the roster of an NBA developmental league team.