Former Georgia Tech and NBA standout Javaris Crittenton, sentenced to 23 years in the August 2011 shooting death of Julian Jones, was granted an early release from prison this week due to an agreement with Fulton County’s former district attorney.
But the county’s current DA has asked the court to reinstate the original sentence and Crittenton, 35, remains at Wilcox State Prison. A judge will again decide his fate, but another court date has not yet been scheduled.
After Crittenton’s 2015 plea and sentencing, former DA Paul Howard agreed to a reduced sentence if Crittenton could demonstrate he’d learned from his mistakes. Current DA Fani Willis, who once represented Crittenton, recused herself from the case after unseating Howard in 2020 and has rejected the modified sentence, according to court documents.
“Upon further review of the case, the Fulton County District Attorney’s office lacked jurisdiction to consent to this resentencing because of a conflict of interest,” the DA’s motion states. “The Fulton County District Attorney’s office moves this court to rescind the resentencing order and reinstate the original sentence.”
Crittenton pleaded guilty to charges including voluntary manslaughter and aggravated assault, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. Crittenton called the shooting that killed Jones, 22, a mother of four, a horrible accident.
Howard had agreed to modify the sentence if Crittenton would accept responsibility and educate others about avoiding a similar path, his attorney, Brian Steel, told the court Thursday. Aimee Maxwell, chief senior assistant district attorney for the conviction integrity unit, represented the DA’s office.
At the end of Thursday’s hearing, Crittenton was resentenced to 20 years including 10 to serve and credit for time already served since his arrest and conviction. In addition, he was ordered to complete 7,200 hours of community service in 10 years and instructed to wear a monitoring system at his expense.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Crittenton and his cousin and co-defendant, Douglas Gamble, were initially charged with murder, felony murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and participation in criminal street gang activity. They pleaded guilty to lesser charges. Gamble, who was with Crittenton at the time of the shooting, was sentenced to three years in custody.
Jones was killed Aug. 19, 2011 in a drive-by shooting outside of her southeast Atlanta home. Crittenton later admitted he was firing shots at a man he believed had previously robbed him, his attorney said Thursday.
Harel Butler, Jones’ boyfriend, said he and Jones had been together nearly 10 years, and he had bought an engagement ring he planned to give her. “I never got a chance to do that,” Butler said.
Jones’ mother spoke during Thursday’s hearing. She has been raising two of her grandchildren since her daughter’s shooting death; the others are with their father.
“They always think about their mom,” she said. “Their mom is a major part of their life. And what he took from them wasn’t even fair.”
Crittenton is a former AJC “Mr. Basketball” and high school star at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy. After playing at Tech, Crittenton was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2007 NBA Draft and traded his rookie year to the Memphis Grizzlies.
While playing for the Washington Wizards, Crittenton was involved in a December 2009 locker room incident with then-teammate Gilbert Arenas in which the two pulled guns on each other. On Jan. 25, 2010, Crittenton pleaded guilty and was given a year of probation on a misdemeanor gun possession charge. Two days later, Crittenton and Arenas were suspended for the rest of the season.
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