NBA Player Pleads Guilty After Threatening Family With Rifle, Set For Light Sentence

Minneapolis, MN – National Basketball Association (NBA) player Malik Beasley pleaded guilty on Monday to threatening a family with a rifle in front of his home and said he wasn’t in his right mind when it happened.

The Plymouth Police Department said the incident began to a threats of violence charge after the Minnesota Timberwolves player aimed a rifle at a couple and their teenage daughter in an SUV outside his home, ESPN reported.

The incident occurred in September when police were called to Beasley’s home after a couple called 911 and reported he had threatened them after they stopped their car in front of his house, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

The couple said they were with their daughter inside their vehicle when Beasley walked up to them.

Police said the couple told the dispatcher that the suspect had tapped on the window of their SUV, pointed a gun at them, and told them to get off his property, ESPN reported.

“As the victims drove away, the suspect was observed holding the gun up to his shoulder, pointing it at their vehicle,” Plymouth police said in a statement.

Police said that when officers arrived at Beasley’s home, they set up a perimeter and began to look for the suspect, ESPN reported.

During that time, they detected a strong odor of marijuana.

A vehicle attempted to leave the residence and was stopped by police, according to ESPN.

Officers detained the three people who were in the car.

Police got a search warrant for Beasley’s home and found numerous guns, including one that was stolen, and narcotics that included a large stash of marijuana, ESPN reported.

Hennepin County jail records showed the Timberwolves’ shooting guard was arrested and charged with felony controlled substance/narcotics and felony receiving/concealing stolen property charges.

Under the terms of the plea agreement reached with prosecutors on Dec. 21, Beasley pleaded guilty to felony threats of violence and the felony drug charge was dismissed, ESPN reported.

The basketball player is scheduled to be formally sentenced on Feb. 9 and will spend 120 days in the work house or on home arrest, in accordance with the plea deal.

His attorney, Steven Haney, said the agreement was negotiated around basketball season and Beasley won’t begin service his sentence until it’s over, ESPN reported.

“This resolution will allow Malik to play the 2020-2021 NBA season and work on becoming the player and person we know he can be,” Haney said.

Beasley will also be on probation for three years, ESPN reported.

If he completes probation without complications, the felony charge will be reduced to a misdemeanor on his record.

“I’ve learned my lesson,” Beasley told the judge during a virtual hearing on Dec. 21, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

“I could have retreated,” he continued. “I was not in my right mind. I’m ready to move on.”

Beasley has played in the NBA for five seasons and earned $21.3 million in salary over his career, ESPN reported.

Last year, he averaged 20.7 points for the Timberwolves in 14 games after being traded by the Denver Nuggets.

Beasley signed a four-year, $60 million contract with Minnesota, according to ESPN.