Jayson Williams Saga May Finally Be Over

According to the AP, Jayson Williams (yes, that one) has accepted a plea deal that will send him to jail for at least 18 months for the accidental shooting of Costas Christofi in 2002.

All the way back in April 2004, Williams was originally acquitted of aggravated manslaughter, assault and other weapons charges after he accidentally killed his limo driver with a shotgun during a party in his home. However, he was convicted on four charges related to his attempts to cover up the shooting and the jury deadlocked on a lesser charger of reckless manslaughter. His sentencing on the cover-up was postponed until there could be a retrial on the reckless manslaughter case, but due to various procedural maneuvers, that trial never happened. He's basically been out on bail for five years.

The retrial was finally slated to resume next January, but sources says that Williams will go to court tomorrow and plead guilty to aggravated assault, ending all the legal challenges. (He settled a civil suit in 2003.) He will face up to three years in prison, but will get a minimum of 18 months because the crime involved a gun. Plus, he could have faced as many 13 years for the charges from the original trial, but those have likely been negotiated down with the plea bargain.

So basically, it's been nearly eight years, but Williams may finally now be punished for trying to impress his idiot friends with a loaded shotgun. If you don't count his failed life, total destruction of his reputation, and possible loss of sanity as punishment. (That's a start, but after all, he did kill a guy.)

Jayson Williams is expected to serve 18 months in prison for 2002 death [Newark Star-Ledger] Jayson Williams taking deal in shooting [AP] Jayson Williams to take plea deal in shooting case [ESPN]