Tom GantertCLEVELAND, OH – National Basketball Association (NBA) player Kevin Porter Jr. just got re-upped with the Cleveland Cavaliers despite recently released bodycam of a fight with security guards in August and weapons charges in November after he was caught with a gun and marijuana in his vehicle.
Porter was caught with a loaded handgun and a small amount of marijuana in his vehicle after a car wreck in Ohio in November, WJW reported.
He was arrested and booked into jail on felony and misdemeanor charges and then released on a $4,000 bond, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.
His attorney, Alex Spiro, said that the gun belonged to Porter’s mother, and that she had a concealed-carry permit for it.
Spiro said that Porter had no idea there was a gun in his car, WJW reported.
“One should never rush to judgment,” Porter’s lawyer said.
Mahoning County sheriff’s records showed that Porter had been facing charges of improperly handling a firearm, ESPN reported.
A Mahoning County grand jury refused to indict the Cleveland Cavaliers guard on felony gun charges on Dec. 17, WJW reported.
The same day that the grand jury failed to charge the Cleveland Cavalier, police released bodycam video of an encounter with Porter in August at an entertainment complex in Cleveland.
Porter got into a disagreement that escalated into a struggle with security guards at the facility and was being detained by them when officers arrived on the scene, WJW reported.
Bodycam showed Porter yelling at security guards who he claimed assaulted him.
“Situation wise, he was pulling on her, Jose came in to address the situation, he got aggressive got pushing,” one of the guards told police in the video. “He started talking about killing him that’s when me and my partner jumped in.”
A woman in the video tried to calm Porter down but was unsuccessful, and police can be heard saying they were just trying to find out what happened, according to WJW.
“You tried that s–t,” Porter yelled as he pointed a finger at security officers and police. “I will remember you and I will remember you, boy.”
The video also showed that Porter’s mother arrived on the scene and told police and security that her son was an NBA player and they told her it didn’t matter, WJW reported.
Ultimately, the security guards opted not to press charges against Porter.
Police reports also showed that Porter was accused of punching a 19-year-old woman in the face and ripping off her weave during a fight in Cleveland on Aug. 16, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.
The fight began when Porter’s 26-year-old sister and two other women exchanged words, and then punches were thrown, at an apartment building in the Warehouse District.
A witness said that the punch knocked the woman back against a refrigerator.
The women left the building and called the police, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.
The police report said that Porter left the scene before officers arrived.
Cleveland police told the two women involved in the fight they would need to go to the prosecutor to press charges against Porter and his sister, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.
Spiro said there was no truth to the allegations that Porter had attacked a woman.
Porter was a first-round draft pick of the Milwaukee Bucks in 2019, ESPN reported.
He was traded twice before the season started and ended up with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Porter averaged 10.0 points per game in 50 games in his rookie season.
He earned $1.2 million in 2019-20 and is scheduled to make $1.7 million in 2020-21, ESPN reported.
On Wednesday, the Cavaliers announced they had exercised their third-year option on Porter, NBA.com reported.
Holly Matkin
