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San Francisco 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith was facing felony gun charges, but was able to get a lesser charge that won't result in prison time. The sentencing for this was originally scheduled for Friday, July 25, but was pushed up to Friday, July 18.
The good news is Smith had his gun felonies reduced to misdemeanors.
The bad news is the revelation that Smith was partying with gang members when he had his weapons sized by police.
Prosecutor says Aldon Smith was partying with Norteño street gang members when weapons were seized
— Damian Trujillo (@newsdamian) July 18, 2014
He'll also face a minor jail sentence:
Aldon Smith sentenced 12 days in jail for vehicle charges
— Damian Trujillo (@newsdamian) July 18, 2014
As for the DUI he was also being sentenced for:
DUI:court prob for 3 years, *12 days in county jail, with 1 day credit, HOWEVER that can be served on mondays starting july 28 ON WORK CREW
— tracey kaplan (@tkaplanreport) July 18, 2014
DUi: comes down to probation w 11 days on a work crew on mondays
— tracey kaplan (@tkaplanreport) July 18, 2014
For misd gun charges: same to run concurrently (at same time) plus 235 hrs commty service.
— tracey kaplan (@tkaplanreport) July 18, 2014
For guns: $2,000 punitive fine, cant possess guns or ammo for 3 years tht he on probation
— tracey kaplan (@tkaplanreport) July 18, 2014
Smith has a list of past transgressions in the NFL. He was arrested this offseason for allegedly yelling "bomb" in an airport. Smith also missed five games in 2013 while being treated for substance abuse.
In May, Smith pleaded no contest to a trio of felony weapons charges and a misdemeanor count of DUI. Even though he avoids prison time, the NFL undoubtedly will take action, most likely suspending him under the personal conduct policy for one or more games to start the season.
Fox Sports 1's Mike Garafolo believes Smith could be facing a 4-6 game suspension.
Smith’s attorney, Josh Bently, said after the May hearings that Smith "continues to accept responsibility for his actions. We are looking forward to the next court appearance and are confident that the Court will reach an appropriate sentence."
While the NFL has not said what type of discipline Smith might face, commissioner Roger Goodell did say last October that he’d take into consideration how Smith voluntarily missed five games last season while seeking substance-abuse treatment.
At the end of the day, it's looking very likely that Smith, one of the game's best defenders, will at least miss several games this year, and possibly more.
As a rookie in 2011, Smith was named Defensive Rookie of the Year by Pro Football Writers of America, and finished second to Von Miller for the Associated Press NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award.
In 2012, Smith broke one of Reggie White's many NFL record by recording 31.5 sacks in his first two seasons. Hi 19.5 sacks that year also topped Fred Dean's 49ers franchise record of 17.5 sacks in one season.
Because Smith missed five games in 2013, he only managed to get 8.5 sacks.