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Is Plaxico Burress Going to Jail?

Posted Dec. 3, 2008 – The New York Giants suspended Plaxico Burress for four games on Tuesday, effectively ending his season, after he accidentally shot himself in the thigh over the weekend at a Manhattan nightclub, according to The Associated Press.  The team also placed him on non-football injury reserve, which means he can't return for the playoffs, either.

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If the news that he was being punished for conduct detrimental to the team wasn't bad enough for Burress, the Giants receiver was also charged with illegal weapons possession, which could land him in prison from three to 15 years.  Unless he reaches a plea deal, he is due back in court on March 31, according to AP

If  New York's mayor has his way, Burress would serve some jail time. Michael Bloomberg on Monday called for prosecutors to throw the book at Burress.

Our children are getting killed with guns in the streets," Bloomberg said. "Our police officers are getting killed with guns in the hands of criminals. … I don't think that anybody should be exempt from that, and I think it would be an outrage if we didn't prosecute to the fullest extent of the law, particularly people who live in the public domain, make their living because of their visibility; they are the role models for our kids.

Neither Burress nor his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, was immediately available for comment.

Dr. Scott Rodeo, a team physician, examined Burress and told the Giants that the gunshot wound would have sidelined the 31-year-old player for four to six weeks anyway.

Authorities are also looking into whether the hospital where Burress was taken after the shooting incident failed to notify police after he arrived there early Saturday morning with a gunshot wound to his thigh, despite a state law requiring a doctor or hospital to report such violence to the authorities "at once.

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