NFL player arrested on gun charges

Joe Lefeged, 25-year old Colts defense back early Saturday was arrested by police after allegedly finding his pistol poking out from under the passenger seat of a white Camaro he had been in. The vehicle got a police officers attention after the officer saw a man standing upright on the back seat of the Camaro, according to Araz Alali, Metropolitan Police Department.

In addition documents state that when officers had repeatedly asked the Camaro’s driver to put the car in the park he put his foot on the gas and sped away. Four officers later found the Camaro, but have not been able to identify the driver who fled. It has been reported that a man was seen running in one direction and the man who had been standing up in the Camaro, was 23-year old Aaron Timothy. Both men have been arrested and were found four miles east of the Capitol.

Lefeged’s public defender. Martina King claims that her client was sitting in the Camaro’s passenger seat not by foot when he was arrested. Police searching the vehicle found a clear bottle in the center console that smelled of alcohol and a black H&K .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol which was “in plain view sticking out from underneath the front passenger seat”. Investigator have determined that Lefeged paid $900 for the gun in late May.

King has contended that the gun in question is registered to Lefeged and since it was found under his seat it was out of his reach. Judge Anne O’Regan Keary disagreed saying that the firearm was in Lefeged’s reach if it was under his seat. Keary ruled that there was probably cause to continue detaining him at least until his next hearing which will be taking place Tuesday morning. According to Alali, Lefeged and Wilson were both arrested on suspicion of carrying a firearm without a license, having an unregistered firearm, having unregister ammunition, presence of a firearm in a motor vehicle and possession of an open container of alcohol. For now, Lefeged is facing only two charges: presence of a firearm in a motor vehicle and possession of an unregistered firearm.

Lefeged did not enter a plea during his initial court appearance in D.C. Superior Court this past weekend. Washington has one of the most strictest gun-control measures in the country in respect to the district’s law “no person shall carry within the District of Columbia either openly or concealed on or about their person, a pistol, or any deadly or dangerous weapon capable of being so concealed.” A firearm is only permitted in the district if is held in the registrant’s home or workplace or if it is being used for lawful recreational purposes or is being transported for a lawful purpose. If firearms are registered elsewhere it must still be registered in the District of Columbia. after the arrest stating they will not be commenting on the arrest: “We are aware of the reports regarding Joe Lefeged in Washington, D.C. At this time, we will have no further comment on the pending matter until we gain more information”

The arrest puts Lefeged in a difficult situation he has played in every game of his two- year professional football career, including four starts last season for the Colts. He was raised and attended high school in Germantown, Md and entering his third season in the NFL. In 2006, The Washington Post named Lefeged who was then a linebacker, The All-Met-Defensive Player of the year.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 2nd according to court records.